PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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GENESIS. 

REVISED    VERSION 

■WITH 

EXPLANATORY    NOTES. 


THE 


BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 


THE  COMMON  VERSION  REVISED 


THE  AMEKICAN  BIBLE  UNION, 


EXPLANATOEY   NOTES. 


BY    THOMAS   J.    CONANT. 


$*to  fork: 

AMERICAN   BIBLE  UNION,   No.   32   GREAT  JONES    STREET. 
LONDON :  TRUBNER  &  CO.,  60  PATERNOSTER  ROW. 

1873. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by 

THE  AMERICAN  BIBLE  UNION, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


THOMAS  HOLMAN,  PRINTER, 
Corner  Centre  and  White  Streets,  New  York. 


INTKODUCTION. 


§  i. 

Object  of  the  Book,  and  its  Relation  to  the  divine  Canon. 

The  object  of  the  book  is  to  reveal  to  us  the  origin  of  the  material 
universe  ;  man's  origin  and  relation  to  God  the  Creator,  and  the  equality 
of  all  men  before  him  ;  the  divinely  constituted  relation  of  the  sexes  ;  the 
divine  institution  of  the  Sabbath  ;  the  origin  of  moral  and  physical  evil ; 
the  primaeval  history  of  the  human  race,  and  the  origin  of  nations  ;*  the 
selection  of  one  as  the  depository  of  the  sacred  records,  and  of  the  divine 
purpose  and  method  for  man's  redemption  ;  the  history  of  its  ancestral 
founders,  and  their  relation  to  its  subsequent  history. 

Of  these  truths,  to  the  knowledge  of  which  we  owe  the  present  advance- 
ment in  civilization,  it  is  the  object  of  the  book  to  furnish  a  divinely 
accredited  record.  Its  value  is  apparent  on  the  face  of  the  above  state- 
ment, and  is  attested  by  the  history  of  civilization  ;  for  without  it,  no 
amount  of  intellectual  culture,  of  refinement  in  taste,  of  progress  in  the 
sciences  and  arts,  has  ever  been  found  sufficient  to  save  a  people  from 
moral  corruption,  and  ultimate  decay  and  ruin.  In  these  truths,  and  the 
divine  attestation  of  them,  lies  the  only  basis  of  popular  progress,  and  of 
permanent  national  prosperity  ;  and  on  all  these  we  should  be  in  the  pro- 
fuundest  ignorance,  without  the  revelations  contained  in  this  book.f 

From  this  results  its  relation  to  the  divine  canon.  Its  teachings  are 
presupposed  in  all  subsequent  revelations,  and  are  assumed  to  be  known 
to  the  reader.  Passing  allusions  are  made  to  them,  in  which  they  are 
recognized  as  known  ;  but  no  formal,  full,  and  connected  statement  of 
them  is  elsewhere  made,  as  though  it  were  not  already  done  and  familiar  to 

*  Compare  the  suggestions  of  one  of  the  most  profound  of  philosophical  thinkers,  quoted  in 
the  third  foot-note  on  p.  49. 
t  Compare  the  striking  remarks  of  Auberlen,  quoted  in  the  foot-note  on  p.  50. 


INTRODUCTION. 


the  reader.  The  ground-truths,  on  which  the  whole  structure  of  religious 
teaching  rests,  are  assumed  to  have  been  already  taught ;  such,  for  exam- 
ple, as  the  relation  of  the  material  world  to  the  Supreme  Being,  who 
created  it  out  of  nothing,  and  who  therefore  controls  all  the  forces  of  its 
elements,  brought  into  existence  by  him,  and  hence  subject  to  his  will  ; 
the  relation  of  man,  in  his  material  and  spiritual  nature,  to  the  Being  who 
created  him,  and  who  therefore  has  a  sovereign  right  to  control  the  use  of 
the  powers  which  he  created  ;  a  right  paramount  to  that  of  the  creature 
himself,  who  possesses  these  powers  by  the  gift  of  Him  who  brought  them 
into  being  ;  the  cause  of  the  moral  and  physical  evils  that  universally  pre- 
vail, throughout  the  world  and  among  all  races  and  generations  of  men  ; 
the  divine  origin  and  universal  obligation  of  the  positive  institutions  of 
marriage  and  the  Sabbath  ;  the  inviolable  sanctity  of  human  life  in  every 
individual,  until  forfeited  by  his  own  violation  of  it  in  another  ;  the  initia- 
tory steps  for  perpetuating  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  and  for  carrying 
into  effect  the  divine  plan  for  the  redemption  of  the  race. 

These  are  the  ground-work  of  all  subsequent  teachings,  and  in  all  of 
them  are  assumed  as  known. 

Moreover,  the  histories  of  various  personages,  treated  of  here  in  their 
minutest  details,  are  often  referred  to  as  already  known  ;  so  that  no  part 
of  subsequent  revelation  could  be  understood,  without  a  familiar  acquaint- 
ance with  this  book. 

Such  is  its  place  in  the  divine  canon. 

§  2. 

Divine  Authority  and  Inspiration  of  the  Book* 

The  claim  of  this  book,  to  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  divine  revelation,  is 
established  beyond  question  by  the  authority  of  Christ  and  his  apostles. 
It  was  a  part  of  that  collection  of  sacred  writings,  the  Oracles  of  God, 
which  were  committed  to  the  care  and  guardianship  of  the  Jewish  people 
(Rom  3:2).  Of  these  writings,  collectively,  the  Savior  and  his  apostles 
often  speak  as  the  word  of  God  ;  recognizing,  and  directly  asserting,  their 
divine  authority  and  inspiration.  See  such  passages,  for  example,  as  Matt 
6  :  17-19  ;  John  5  :  39  ;  Rom.  3:2;  Matt.  22  :  43,  and  Mark  12  :  36  ; 
2  Tim.  3  :  16  ;  1  Pet.  1  :  10-12  ;  2  Pet.  1  :  21.  This  book  was,  therefore, 
as  a  part  of  these  divine  writings  (called  in  the  New  Testament  the  Scrip- 

*  The  remarks  in  this  section  are  repeated  here  from  §  1  of  the  writer's  Introduction  to  the 
Book  of  Job,  Part  Second. 


INTRODUCTION. 


tures,  tlie  Holy  Scriptures,  the  Oracles  of  God)  expressly  recognized  by 
the  Savior  and  his  apostles  as  of  divine  authority,  and  was  declared  to 
be  "profitable  for  teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness"  (2  Tim.  3  :  16). 

The  genuineness  of  the  book  (in  other  words,  that  it  is  a  divine  book  ; 
that,  in  this  sense,  it  is  not  a  spurious  production)  is  thus  established  by 
the  highest  authority.  It  is  a  question  of  less  importance  by  whom  the 
book  was  written  ;  and  this  will  be  considered  in  §  5.  In  regard  to  many 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  this  can  not  be  determined  with  certainty. 
Nor  is  this  necessary  to  be  known  ;  nor  would  it  by  itself  prove  their 
inspiration  and  divine  authority,  which  must  rest  on  other  grounds.* 


§  3- 

Composition  of  the  Book. 

The  attentive  reader  will  observe  very  marked  peculiarities  in  the  com- 
position of  the  book. 

There  are  striking  variations  of  style  and  manner,  not  only  in  treating 
of  subjects  differing  in  their  nature,  where  it  might  be  expected,  but  also 
where  the  subjects  are  of  the  same  general  character.  These  variations 
are  observable  even  in  a  translation,  and  still  more  so  in  the  original  text, 
where  words  and  forms  of  expression,  familiar  to  some  portions,  are  never 
found  in  others.  With  these  variations  in  the  general  manner  of  the 
writer  arc  connected  certain  other  peculiarities,  which  mark  the  transition 
from  one  portion  to  another.  In  the  first  subdivision  of  the  book,  for  exam- 
ple, embracing  the  first  chapter  and  the  first  three  verses  of  the  second, 
the  name  of  the  Divine  Being  is  uniformly  God.  In  the  second,  extending 
from  the  fourth  verse  of  the  second  chapter  to  the  end  of  the  third,  it  is 
Uniformly  Jehovah  GoD.f  In  the  third,  contained  in  the  fourth  chapter,  it 
is  uniformly  Jehovah.|  In  the  fourth,  contained  in  the  fifth  chapter,  it  is 
again  uniformly  God.§ 

*  The  authority  of  a  writing,  claimed  to  be  divine,  does  not  in  any  case  rest  on  the  particular 
writer  or  human  instrumentality,  but  on  the  divine  attestation  given  to  it ;  and  this  attestation 
can  be  given,  as  in  many  cases  it  has  been,  to  writings  which  have  come  to  us  anonymously, 
and  of  which  the  particular  writer  can  not  be  determined  with  certainty. 

t  Except  in  the  quoted  words  of  the  tempter's  address  to  Eve,  and  of  her  reply  (ch.  3  :  1-5), 
which  are  not  the  language  of  the  narrator. 

%  Except  in  the  quoted  language  of  Eve,  v.  25.    Compare  the  note  on  v.  26,  third  paragraph. 

§  Except  in  v.  29,  in  the  words  quoted  from  Lamech.  Compare  the  fourth  paragraph  of  the 
note  on  that  verse,  and  the  note  on  ch.  4  :  26,  the  last  paragraph. 


INTRODUCTION. 


In  the  subsequent  portions  of  the  book,  the  alternations  are  more  frequent 
and  less  regular,  but  no  less  distinctly  marked. 

For  the  object  of  this  section  it  is  not  necessary  to  add  further  illustra- 
tions on  this  point.*  But  the  careful  reader  will  also  observe,  that  there 
are  portions  where  the  name  God  is  chiefly  employed,  with  the  occasional 
use  of  the  name  Jehovah,  in  which  the  sense  is  complete,  and  the  connec- 
tion clear,  without  the  passages  containing  the  latter  name.  Take,  for 
example,  chs.  6-10.  If  the  reader  will  inclose  in  brackets  the  passages 
containing  the  name  Jehovah,  namely,  v.  3  and  vv.  6-8  in  ch.  6,  vv.  1-6 
and  the  last  clause  of  v.  16  in  ch.  1,  vv.  20-22  in  ch.  8,  vv.  20-29  in  ch.  9, 
and  v.  9  in  ch.  10,  he  will  find  that  the  thread  of  the  narrative  is  unbroken, 
and  the  sense  complete,  when  this  portion  is  read  without  these  passages. 
They  make  additional  statements  which  are  important  in  themselves,  but 
are  not  necessary  to  the  coherency  of  the  narrative. 

The  natural  inference  is,  that  the  Book  of  Genesis  consists  of  different 
revelations,  made  at  different  times,  anterior  to  the  age  of  the  inspired 
writer  to  whom  we  owe  its  present  form  ;  and  that  he  embodied  them  in  a 
connected  narrative,  supplying  what  was  wanting  in  one  from  the  others 
and  adding  himself  what  was  necessary  for  its  completion. f 

This  conclusion  is  strengthened  by  the  character  of  large  portions  of  its 
contents,  consisting  of  genealogies,  or  accounts  of  births  and  other  inci- 
dents of  family  history,!  long  anterior  to  the  age  of  Moses^the  writer  of 
the  book  (§  5).  • 

Of  the  date  of  the  earliest  of  these  divine  communications  there  is  no 
intimation.  But  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  the  ancient 
patriarchs,  Enoch  and  Noah  who  "  walked  with  God,"  Abraham  the  "  Friend 
of  God,"  had  lfo  authentic  and  divinely  attested  record  of  these  truths,  on 
which  their  own  relation  to  the  Divine  Being  depended,  and  without  the 
knowledge  of  which  it  could  not  be  understood.  We  have  therefore  reason 
for  holding,  that  these  earliest  revelations  come  to  us  from  the  inspiration 
of  the  remote  and  unknown  past,  beyond  the  date  of  the  writings  of  Moses 
himself.  § 

*  la  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  article  Genesis,  C,  3,  (1)— (7),  the  details  are  fully  given. 
Paragraphs  (1)— (3)  give  all  the  passages  in  which  these  names  are  severally  used,  either  exclu- 
sively, or  with  occasional  exceptions,  for  the  most  part  readily  accounted  for. 

t  This  in  no  degree  detracts  from  the  divine  authority  of  the  book,  which  (as  already  remark- 
ed in  §  2,  second  foot-note)  depends  not  on  the  human  writer,  or  on  our  knowledge  of  him,  but 
on  the  divine  attestation ;  and  this  is  given  to  the  book  itself,  irrespective  of  the  human  instru- 
mentality through  which  it  was  communicated. 

$  Compare  the  note  on  ch.  2  :  4,  second  paragraph. 

§  Compare  the  note  on  ch.  14  :  2,  second  paragraph,  and  ch.  36  :  2,  3,  note,  third  paragraph. 


INTRODUCTION.  XU* 


§  4. 
Unity  of  Plan  in  the  Book.     Its  Divisions  and  Contents. 

The  book  first  reveals  God's  relation  to  the  universe,  and  to  its  sentient 
and  intelligent  occupants,  as  the  Creator  and  rightful  Proprietor  and 
Sovereign  of  all. 

It  then  records  the  early  history  and  universal  corruption  of  man,  and 
the  interposition  of  divine  justice  in  the  destruction  of  the  guilty  race. 

It  then  proceeds  with  the  general  history  of  the  new  race  of  man,  till  it 
becomes  manifest  that  the  signal  lesson  is  without  effect,  that  the  tendency 
to  evil  is  innate  and  universal,  and  that  there  is  no  power  of  self-renova- 
tion. 

It  then  records  the  initiatory  steps  of  the  divine  arrangement  for  the 
renovation  of  man,  and  for  perpetuating  the  knowledge  and  worship  of  the 
true  God. 

Thenceforward  it  is  occupied  with  the  personal  history  of  the  family,  in 
whom  and  their  descendants  this  divine  purpose  was  to  be  carried  into 
effect.  In  the  details  of  their  history,  as  in  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
nation,  it  is  made  evident  that  the  wonderful  truths  of  which  they  were 
the  depository  did  not  originate  from  themselves,  but  were  divinely  com- 
municated.* 

In  all  this  there  is  a  manifest  unity  of  design,  indicating  a  special  purr 
pose  and  aim  in  the  composition  of  the  book. 

It  should  be  observed  of  this,  as  of  every  other  part  of  the  divine  volume, 
that  it  is  not  a  declaration  of  abstract  principles,  or  of  abstract  truths, 
which  convince  without  moving.      It  takes  hold  on  the  life,  through  its 

*  Kan  intellectual  and  philosophic  people,  such  as  the  Greeks  for  example,  with  a  capacity 
for  acute  and  metaphysical  speculation,  had  been  selected  as  the  depository  of  these  truths,  it 
might  with  more  show  of  reason  be  maintained,  that  they  originated  in  the  tendencies  of  tin* 
national  mind.  But  how  should  the  pure  monotheism  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  the  doctrin^ 
of  the  One  Eternal  God,  have  originated  with  a  people  ever  prone  to  idolatry?  And  whence 
was  that  light  which  illumined  Palestine,  a  mere  patch  on  the  earth's  surface,  while  til  other 
nations,  the  world  around,  were  enveloped  in  darkness?  And  whence  were  those  conceptions  of 
God  and  his  attributes  sung  by  Psalmists  and  Prophets,  and  now  the  ground-work  of  the  highest 
civilization  to  which  man  has  ever  attained,  while  Homer  and  Hesiod  were  singing  of  the  gods 
of  Olympus  and  the  mythic  fables  of  the  Theogony  ?  He  who  believes  that  the  unphilosophical 
and  unlearned  Hebrews  outstripped  the  most  intellectual  and  wisest  nations  of  antiqoity,  put  to 
ehame  their  learning  and  philosophy,  and  have  become  the  instructors  of  the  most  enlightened 
nations  of  modern  times,  believes  a  greater  wonder  than  the  divine  inspiration  of  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures. 


33V  INTRODUCTION. 


details  of  life,  and  influences  action  by  showing  the  power  and  tendencies 
of  principles  in  action.  The  minuteness  of  its  details  of  every-day  life  is 
therefore  in  harmony  with  its  spirit  and  purpose,  as  it  is  with  all  other 
parts  of  the  divine  word  ;  and  on  these  depends  its  power,  instrumentally, 
as  an  element  in  progressive  civilization. 

The  general  divisions  and  contents  of  the  book  are  as  follows  : 

First  division,  chs.  1-3.  Account  of  the  Creation,  and  of  the  entrance  of 
moral  evil  into  the  world. 

Second  division,  chs.  4-9.  Account  of  sinful  man,  and  of  the  prevalence 
of  irreligion  and  immorality,  from  the  fall  to  the  first  universal  manifesta- 
tion of  divine  justice  in  the  destruction  of  the  guilty  race. 

Third  division,  chs.  10,  11.  Continued  development  of  its  history  and 
proof  of  its  alienation  from  the  true  God,  and  of  the  want  of  a  self-renova- 
ting power. 

Fourth  division,  chs.  12-50.  Initiation,  and  progressive  steps,  of  the 
divine  arrangement  for  the  renovation  of  the  race. 

The  contents  of  the  more  minute  subdivisions  are  prefixed  to  each,  in  the 
explanatory  notes. 


§5. 

Writer  of  the  Book. 

The  truths  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Genesis  are  presupposed  as  known  in 
the  books  which  follow  it  in  the  Pentateuch,  and  in  all  the  subsequent 
books  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  The  Book  of  Exodus  takes  up  and  con- 
tinues the  history,  from  the  point  where  it  is  left  in  Genesis,  with  an 
express  reference  to  what  had  been  related  in  that  book.*  It  recognizes 
incidentally,  as  known  facts,  God's  "  covenant  with  Abraham,  with  Isaac, 
and  with  Jacob"  (ch.  2  :  24),  his  relation  to  them  as  "the  God  of  Abraham, 
the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob"  (ch.  3  :  6),  and  their  posterity  as 
"his  people"  (v.  1),  styling  him  "the  God  of  their  fathers"  (vv.  13,  15,  16), 
and  "  Jehovah,  God  of  their  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac, 
and  the  God  of  Jacob"  (ch.  4:5);  his  "appearing  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac, 
and  to  Jacob,"  and  his  "  covenant  with  them  to  give  them  the  land  of 
Canaan,  the  land  of  their  sojournings"  (ch.  6  :  3-5  and  8);  the  charge 
given  by  Joseph  (Gen.  50  :  25)  respecting  his  remains  (ch.  13  :  19);  the 

*  Compare  Exodus,  1  :  1-8. 


INTRODUCTION. 


institution  of  the  Sabbath  (ch.  16  :  5,  and  22-30*);  the  six  days  of  creation 
and  the  rest  on  the  seventh  (ch.  20  :  11). 

These  are  only  incidental  allusions  to  things  known,  and  necessarily 
presuppose  the  revelations  and  historical  details  in  this  book,  to  which 
they  refer. 

Without  these  revelations,  the  Hebrews  would  have  had  no  knowledge 
of  the  God  whom  they  were  required  to  worship  and  obey,  as  the  Creator 
and  Supreme  Lawgiver,  or  of  the  guilt  of  idolatry  as  a  sin  against  him. 
Without  these  historical  details,  the  frequent  allusions  to  their  connection 
with  the  early  patriarchs,  and  with  the  promises  made  to  them,  would 
have  been  an  unintelligible  enigma. 

The  Book  of  Genesis  was  therefore  an  integral  and  necessary  part  of 
that  divine  code,  which,  under  the  name  Law  (Deut.  31  :  9,  24),  Law  of 
Jehovah  (Ex.  13  :  9),  Book  of  the  Law  of  God  (Josh.  24  :  26),  Book  of  the 
Law  of  Moses  (Josh.  23  :  6),  Law  of  Moses  (1  Kings  2  :  3),  is  ascribed  to 
him  as  the  writer.  This  is  claimed  by  himself,  in  the  body  of  the  code.  It 
is  there  said,  that  "Moses  wrote  this  law"  (Deut.  31  :  9),  that  he  "made 
an  end  of  writing  the  words  of  this  law  in  a  book,  until  they  were  finished" 
(Deut,  31  :  24) 

That  the  writings  which  bore  this  general  name,  including  Genesis, 
were  from  the  hand  of  Moses,  is  thus  proved  by  his  own  assertion,  and  by 
the  uniform  testimony  of  the  writers  nearest  to  his  own  age. 

The  Book  of  Genesis  comes  to  us,  therefore,  with  the  authority  of  the  in- 
spired Lawgiver,  having  the  same  divine  attestation  as  the  writings  first 
communicated  through  him. 


§  6- 

Account  of  the  Creation, 

The  book  opens  with  the  grandest  theme  that  ever  occupied  the  thoughts 
of  created  intelligences  ;  the  Work  of  God,  in  bringing  into  being  tho 
material  universe,  and  peopling  it  with  organic,  conscious,  and  spiritual 
life.f  The  style  and  manner  of  treatment  are  in  harmony  with  the  grand- 
eur of  the  theme.     In  few  and  powerful  strokes,  the  progressive  stages  of 

*  Compare  the  note  on  Gen.  2  :  3,  third  and  following  paragraphs, 
t  Compare  the  sublime  allusion  to  this  in  Job  33  :  7  ; 

When  the  morning-stars  sang  together, 

And  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy ! 


INTRODUCTION. 


the  work  are  pictured  to  the  mind,  on  a  scale  of  magnificence  unparalleled 
in  writings  human  or  divine. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  these  characteristic  traits  of  the  account 
of  the  Creation,  shadowing  forth  its  impenetrable  mysteries  in  broad  and 
general  outlines,  should  have  been  overlooked  in  its  interpretation.  This 
sublime  Epic  of  Creation,  with  its  boldly  figurative  imagery,  and  poetic 
grandeur  of  conception  and  expression,  has  been  subjected  to  a  style  of 
interpretation,  suited  only  to  a  plain  and  literal  record  of  the  ordinary 
occurrences  of  life.  Hence  not  only  its  true  spirit,  but  its  profound  teach- 
ings, have  been  misconceived  and  misinterpreted  ;  and  its  exhibition  of  the 
mysteries  of  creative  power,  which  science  traces  in  its  own  observation 
of  Nature,  have  been  confounded  with  popular  misapprehensions,  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  well-known  facts  of  science. 

It  is  now  established,  beyond  question,  that  the  earth  we  inhabit  was 
brought  into  existence  many  ages  before  man  was  created.  During  these 
ages  it  was  in  process  of  formation,  and  was  gradually  prepared,  under  the 
divine  direction,  for  its  future  occupation  by  man.  In  those  vast  periods, 
succeeding  each  other  in  long  procession,  it  was  fitted  up  for  his  abode  by 
accumulations  of  mineral  wealth  within  its  bosom.  These  processes  re- 
quired ages  for  their  completion,  as  represented  in  the  sacred  narrative, 
and  recorded  by  the  divine  hand  in  the  successive  strata  enveloping  the 
earth,  and  marking  the  progressive  stages  of  its  formation.* 

The  writer  has  no  claim  to  speak  as  a  geologist,  and  does  not  profess  to 
do  so.  He  takes  the  teachings  of  geology  as  given  us  by  eminent  masters 
of  the  science,  entitled  to  speak  on  its  behalf,  f  But  speaking  as  an  inter- 
preter of  God's  word,  and  taking  their  representation  of  their  own  science, 
he  sees  no  discordance  between  the  two  records,  which  the  same  divine 
Author  has  given  us  in  his  word  and  in  his  works.  The  former,  when 
rightly  interpreted,  is  in  perfect  accord  with  the  latter,  when  truly  exhibit- 
ed. And  geologists  themselves  assert,  that  the  word  of  God,  so  inter- 
preted, is  in  harmony  with  the  teachings  of  their  science.  This  alone  is 
sufficient  to  satisfy  the  candid  and  conscientious  inquirer.  But  they  assert 
also,  that  the  divine  word  explains  the  divine  work,  while  the  divine  work 

*  "  Every  great  feature  in  the  structure  of  the  planet  corresponds  with  the  order  of  the 
events  narrated  in  the  sacred  history."— Prof.  SUliman,  Outline  of  Geological  Lectures,  append- 
ed to  Bakewell's  Geology,  p.  67,  note.  "  This  history  furnishes  a  record  important  alike  to  phi- 
losophy and  religion ;  and  we  find  in  the  planet  itself  the  proof  that  the  record  is  true"  (p.  30). 

t  Guyot,  Lectures  on  the  Concordance  of  the  Mosaic  Account  of  the  Creation  with  that  given 
by  Modern  Science,  1852.  A  full  abstract,  revised  by  himself,  is  given  in  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra 
for  1855,  vol.  xii.,  pp.  324  and  following. 

Dana,  Manual  of  Geology,  art.  Cosmogony,  pp.  741-746  (revised  edition,  1864). 


INTRODUCTION. 


confirms  the  divine  word.  Moreover,  no  human  philosophy  could  have  dis- 
covered, or  conjectured,  what  is  here  revealed.*  The  divine  record  was 
made  when  science  had  not  yet  penetrated  the  mysteries  of  Nature  ;  when 
the  earth's  record  of  its  own  history  was  still  buried  deep  in  its  enveloping 
strata,  and  had  been  read  by  no  human  eye.  As,  therefore,  no  one  wit- 
nessed the  scenes  described,  or  had  read  the  "testimony  of  the  rocks,"  the 
written  account  if  true,  as  science  admits  it  to  be,  must  have  been  of 
superhuman  origin. 

The  successive  stages  in  the  account  of  the  Creation  are  as  follows  : 

1.  The  act  of  bringing  matter  into  being.  Its  condition  as  "  waste  and 
empty,"  and  subjection  to  the  divine  influence  imparting  to  it  its  active 
properties.     Production  of  light,  as  the  first  effect  of  this  imparted  action.f 

2.  Separation  of  the  fluid  mass  into  waters  above  and  waters  below. 

3.  Separation  of  land  and  water  on  the  earth.  Vegetation,  beginning 
with  its  lowest  orders. 

4.  Sun,  moon,  and  stars. 

5.  Animal  life,  beginning  with  inhabitants  of  the  waters  the  lowest  in 
the  scale,  and  winged  species  on  the  land. 

6.  Terrestrial  animals,  in  ascending  grades.  Man,  and  his  dominion 
over  all. | 

These  periods  of  creative  activity,  and  the  cessation  that  followed,  were 
presented  to  the  mind  of  the  sacred  writer  under  the  familiar  symbolism  of 
the  six  days  of  labor  and  the  seventh  of  rest.  This  was  a  natural  and 
intelligible  application  of  it ;  the  word  day,  the  simplest  and  most  familiar 
measure  of  time1,  being  used  in  all  languages  for  any  period  of  duration,  of 
greater  or  less  extent  ;§  and  it  is  specially  appropriate  in  such  a  style  of 

*  "  No  human  mind  was  witness  of  the  events  ;  and  no  such  mind  in  the  early  age  of  the  world, 
unless  gifted  with  superhuman  intelligence,  could  have  contrived  such  a  scheme ;— would  have 
placed  the  creation  of  the  sun,  the  source  of  light  to  the  earth,  so  long  after  the  creation  of 
light,  even  on  the  fourth  day,  and,  what  is  equally  singular,  between  the  creation  of  plants  and 
that  of  animals,  when  so  important  to  both;  and  none  could  have  reached  to  the  depths  of 
philosophy  exhibited  in  the  whole  plan."— Dana,  Manual  of  Geology,  art.  Cosmogony,  p.  743. 

t  Styled  cosmical  in  distinction  from  solar  light. 

J  "In  this  succession,''  says  Prof.  Dana  ( Manual  of  Geology ,  as  above,  p.  745),  "  we  observe 
not  merely  an  order  of  events,  like  that  deduced  from  science ;  there  is  a  system  in  the 
arrangement,  and  a  far-reaching  prophecy,  to  which  philosophy-  could  not  have  attained, 
however  instructed." 

§  In  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  it  is  used  :  1.  For  past  or  future  time  without  limit;  Isaiah  30  :  8, 
"that  it  may  be  for  the  time  (day)  to  come,  forever  and  ever;"  Prov.31  :  25,  "she  shall  rejoice 
in  time  (day)  to  come."  2.  For  a  future  prophetic  period  of  indefinite  length;  Isaiah  2  :  11,  17, 
"  Jehovah  alone  shall  be  exalted  in  that  day ;"  Ezek.  38  :  14,  "  in  that  day,  when  my  people  of 
Israel  dwells  safely  ;"  compare  Isaiah  11  :  10,  11 ;  Hos.  2  :  16,  18,  21 ;  Micah  4:6;  Zech.  2  :  11, 
3  :  10, 12  :  9     3.  For  an  epoch,  or  a  period  of  time,  in  history;  Judges  13  :  1,  "fur  unto  that 


INTRODUCTION. 


representation  as  we  find  in  this  chapter.  The  word  day  is  used  in  various 
ways  in  this  brief  account  of  the  Creation  ;  in  ch.  1  :  5,  for  light,  without 
reference  to  duration,  and  also  for  a  period  of  alternating  light  and  dark- 
ness ;  in  v.  14,  for  a  period  of  light  alone  (in  distinction  from  night),  and 
also  for  the  full  natural*  day  including  both  ;  and  in  ch.  2  :  4,  it  is  used  for 
the  whole  period  of  time  occupied  in  the  work  of  creation.  These  various 
applications  result  naturally  from  its  primary  use  ;  and  the  examples  given 
in  the  foot-note  show  that  its  use  for  periods  of  indefinite  duration  is  com- 
mon in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. 

The  six  days  of  labor,  and  the  seventh  of  rest,  having  been  adopted  as 
the  symbolism  under  which  these  sublime  mysteries  are  revealed,  whatever 
properly  belongs  to  it,  and  is  essential  to  its  full  expression,  is  pertinent  to 
the  writer's  object.  Each  period  being  represented  by  a  day,  its  beginning 
and  end  are  described  in  terms  proper  to  represent  a  day,  "  there  was  even- 
ing and  there  was  morning."  This  was  necessary,  in  order  to  preserve 
the  symbolic  representation* 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  sacred  writer,  throughout  this  account, 
represents  things  under  forms  of  expression  most  easily  apprehended  by 
the  common  mind.  The  narrative  was  given  to  instruct,  and  not  to  perplex 
and  confound  the  common  reader,  as  it  would  have  done  if  expressed  in 
scientific  forms,  adapted  to  a  higher  stage  of  culture  than  the  Bible  requires, 
or  could  properly  presuppose,  in  its  readers. 

Such  a  view  of  the  sacred  narrative  exalts  our  conception  of  the  divine 
Architect,  and  of  his  work.  He  who  inhabits  eternity  has  no  need  to  be  in 
a  hurry.  With  him,  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day.f  It  was  not  till 
ages  of  preparation  had  passed  away,  that  his  purposes  found  their  entire 
fulfillment,  and  his  work  its  completed  unity,  in  the  creation  of  man.  See 
the  writer's  remarks  on  vv.  26-28  of  the  first  chapter. 

day"  (the  time  referred  to  in  the  two  preceding  clauses,  "in  those  days  there  was  no  king," 
etc.)  ;  20  :  15,  "  at  that  time"  (day),  namely,  that  period  of  their  history ;  1  Sam.  8  :  18,  "  in 
that  day,"  namely,  the  period  of  his  arbitrary  rule,  and  oppressive  exactions,  described  in  vv. 
11-17;  Deut.  31  :  17,  18  (referring  to  an  age  of  idolatry,  v.  16)  "my  anger  shall  be  kindled 
against  them  in  that  day,  .  .  .  and  I  will  surely  hide  my  face  in  that  day."  4.  For  a  season 
of  the  year;  Prov.  25  :  13,  "as  the  coolness  of  snow  in  the  time  (day)  of  harvest;"  2  Sam. 
23  :  20,  "  in  the  time  (day)  of  snow."  5.  For  a  period  of  life,  as  of  old  age ;  Eccles.  12  :  3,  "  in 
the  day  when  the  keepers  of  the  house  shall  tremble."  G.  For  any  specified  time  of  indefinite 
length ;  1  Sam.  3:2,"  at  that  time"  (day),  the  time  referred  to  in  the  preceding  verse. 

*  It  is  hardly  to  be  supposed,  that  a  practiced  exegete  would  make  a  mere  incident  of  the 
figurative  costume  an  objection  to  the  symbolic  representation,  as  though  a  literal  day  must  be 
meant,  because  a  literal  day  is  described.    Yet  this  mistake  has  been  made. 

t  "  In  the  plan  of  an  infinite  God,  centuries  are  required  for  the  maturing  of  some  of  th8 
plants  with  which  the  earth  is  adorned."— Dana,  Manual  of  Geology  (as  above,  p.  744). 


INTRODUCTION. 


According  to  the  distinguished  teachers  of  science  referred  to  in  the 
second  foot-note  on  p.  xvi.,  the  account  of  the  creation  recognizes  two  great 
eras,  an  inorganic  and  an  organic,  consisting  of  three  days  each  ;  each  era 
opening  with  the  appearance  of  light,  that  of  the  first  being  cosmicul,  that 
of  the  second  solar  for  the  special  uses  of  the  earth.* 

It  need  not  be  supposed,  that  the  sacred  writer  read  in  these  wonderful 
revelations  all  the  mysteries  which  they  contain,  or  that  they  were  seen  by 
those  to  whom  the  revelations  were  first  addressed.  It  was  not  necessary 
that  he  or  they  should  be  made  wise  in  physical  learning  beyond  the  wants 
of  their  time  ;  and  the  symbolism  itself  conveyed  all  the  instruction  they 
needed.  So  it  was  with  the  prophets  of  the  Jewish  people,  when  they  fore- 
told the  universal  extension  of  the  Divine  Kingdom  in  symbolism  familiar 
to  the  Jewish  mind  ;  as  when  it  is  said  (Isaiah  2  :  2),  that  "in  the  last 
days  the  mountain  of  Jehovah's  house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the 
mountains,  .  .  .  and  all  the  nations  shall  flow  to  it."  The  profound 
and  far-reaching  truths,  conveyed  in  these  prophetic  words,  are  now  clearly 
understood  by  us,  even  though  the  prophet,  and  those  whom  he  addressed, 
may  not  have  looked  beyond  the  instructive  and  impressive  symbolism 
in  which  they  were  vailed.' 

A  reconciliation  of  the  Biblical  account  with  the  facts  of  Geological 
science  has  been  attempted  on  another  theory  ;  namely,  that  the  several 
stages  in  the  earth's  formation  took  place  in  an  assumed  interval  of  time 
between  the  first  and  second  verses  ;  an  interval  of  vast  and  indefinite 
length,  unnoticed  by  the  sacred  writer.  During  this  interval,  the  suc- 
cessive processes  in  the  formation  of  the  earth  were  completed,  and  the 
successive  orders  of  vegetable  and  animal  life,  the  remains  of  which  are 
found  imbedded  in  its  strata,  were  brought  into  existence  and  perished. 
The  account  of  the  present  state  of  things  on  the  earth's  surface  begins 
with  the  description  in  the  second  verse,  representing  the  chaotic  condition 
of  its  surface  after  the  last  of  its  great  internal  convulsions  ;  and  what 
follows,  in  vv.  3-31,  occurred  in  six  natural  days  of  twenty-four  hours. 

*  "  I.  Inorganic  era: 

1st  Day.— LIGHT  cosmical. 

2d  Day.— The  earth  divided  from  the  fluid  around,  or  individualized. 

(  1.  Outlining  of  the  land  and  water. 
3d  Day. —  < 

(  2.  Creation  of  vegetation. 

II.  Organic  era  : 

4th  Day.— LIGHT  from  the  sun. 

5th  Day.— Creation  of  the  lower  orders  of  animals. 

»*,  T-.  (  1-  Creation  of  Mammals. 

6th  Day 1 

(  2.  Creation  of  Man.'"— Dana,  Manual  of  Geology  (as  above,  p.  745). 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  objections  to  this  theory  are  : 

1.  There  is  no  foundation  for  it  in  the  sacred  writer's  statement.  He 
gives  no  intimation  of  such  an  interval.  It  is  thrust  in,  where  there  is  no  in- 
dication that  it  was  present  to  his  mind,  and  no  reason  for  it  in  the  connection. 

2.  It  assumes  that  the  sacred  writer  has  not  given  us  an  account  of  the 
Creator's  work,  but  only  of  a  part  of  it ;  that  for  unknown  ages  the  earth 
was  peopled  with  vegetable  and  animal  life,  of  which  no  record  is  made. 

3.  It  is  without  support  in  the  facts  ascertained  by  science.  Scientific 
investigation  shows  that  no  such  convulsion,  as  is  assumed  in  this  theory, 
occurred  at  the  period  preceding  the  creation  of  man. 

Hence  the  latest  advocates  of  this  theory*  are  driven  to  the  assumption, 
that  what  is  revealed  in  vv.  3-31  has  reference  only  to  a  small  area  of 
western  Asia  ;  being  nothing  more  than  the  reconstruction  of  that  little 
segment  of  the  earth's  surface,  broken  up  and  thrown  into  confusion  by 
an  internal  convulsion,  and  the  creation  there  of  the  new  orders  of  vegetable 
and  animal  life  that  now  occupy  the  globe. 

On  this  supposition,  the  earth  had  already  enjoyed  the  full  light  of  the 
sun  for  ages,  before  the  work  of  the  first  day  (v.  3)  began.  Even  then,  all 
around  this  little  tract,  the  earth  was  in  a  blaze  of  light ;  but  over  this 
tract  dense  mists  shut  out  the  rays  of  the  sun.  God  said  :  "  Let  there  be 
light  !"  The  mists  grew  thinner,  letting  in  sufficient  light  for  the  time, 
though  not  enough  to  disclose  the  forms  of  the  heavenly  orbs,  which  were 
not  seen  there  till  the  fourth  day,  though  visible  everywhere  else.  Then 
follow,  in  rapid  successions  of  single  days,  the  formation  of  continents  and 
seas,  the  clothing  of  the  earth  with  vegetation,  and  the  peopling  of  it  with 
the  various  classes  of  irrational  animals,  and  finally  with  man. 

The  infinite  God  has  not  revealed  his  work  of  creation  on  such  a  scale  as 
this  ;  and  its  proportions  are  better  suited  to  the  conception  of  the  timid 
interpreter,  stumbling  at  minute  difficulties  and  seeking  to  evade,  them, 
than  to  the  grand  and  fearless  exposition  of  his  work  from  God's  own  hand. 

4.  It  is  an  unworthy  conception  of  the  Creator  and  of  his  work.  Why 
was  the  work  of  creation  extended  through  six  natural  days,  when  a  single 
divine  volition  would  have  brought  the  whole  universe  into  being,  with  all 
its  apparatus  for  the  support  of  life,  and  its  myriads  of  living  beings  ?  Its 
extension  through  six  successive  periods,  of  whatever  duration,  can  be 
explained  only  by  the  operation  of  those  secondary  causes,  which  the 
structure  of  the  earth  itself  proves  to  have  been  active  in  its  formation, 
requiring  ages  for  their  accomplishment. 

*  J.  Pye  Smith,  Geology  and  Scripture ;  J.  G.  Murphy,  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Genesis. 


REVISED    VERSION 


WITH 


EXPLANATORY    NOTES. 


GENESIS. 


1  In   the    beginning,   God   created   the   heavens   and   the 
earth. 

2  Now  the  earth  was  waste  and  empty  ;  and  darkness  was 

Chap.  1  :  1—2  :  3.  First  part  of  the  first  division:  General  account  of  the  Creation;  Insiitu- 
tlon  of  the  Sabbath. 

The  first  verse  declares  that  divine  act  of  creative  power,  which  brought  this  material  universe 
into  being. 

It  is  a  brief  declaration  of  these  great  truths:  1.  That  the  material  universe,  and  all  it  con- 
tains, had  an  origin,— were  not  self-existing  from  eternity.  2.  That  they  were  created  by  the 
act  of  an  intelligent  and  almighty  Being,— were  not  the  result  of  chance,  or  of  the  action  of 
elementary  principles  of  matter.    3.  That  the  Being  who  created  them  is  GOD. 

How  worthy  of  its  place,  at  the  beginning  of  a  revelation  from  God !  Imagine  the  book 
placed  in  our  hands  for  the  first  time.  On  opening  it,  we  read,  in  the  first  sentence,  "  In  the 
beginning,  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth."  What  could  divine  wisdom  have  suggested 
that  would  have  been  more  appropriate?  It  solves  the  first  and  greatest  question,  on  which 
the  thoughtful  inquirer  seeks  information,  Whence  is  this  world,  of  which  I  am  a  part?  It 
declares  also  God's  relation  to  this  world  and  its  occupants,  as  their  only  rightful  proprietor 
and  sovereign.     For  what  he  has  made  from  nothing  is  absolutely  his,  aud  at  his  disposal. 

This  sentence  combines  all  the  elements  of  sublimity;  for  nothing  can  exceed  the  grandeur 
of  the  thought,  or  the  simplicity,  conciseness,  and  majesty  of  the  expression. 

V.  1.  In  the  beginning:  with  reference  to  the  universe,  of  which  the  writer  is  speaking.  It 
was  the  beginning,  the  origin,  of  the  material  universe. 

Created.  It  has  been  maintained  of  late,  and  by  devout  Christian  scholars,  that  the  Hebrew 
verb  does  not  mean  to  create,  but  to  shape,  to  form ;  and  consequently  we  have  no  assertion, 
here  or  elsewhere  i:i  the  Scriptures,  of  the  absolute  creation  of  the  world  out  of  nothing,  by 
an  act  of  divine  power.  The  reasons  for  this  opinion  are:  1.  That  the  etymological  ground- 
meaning  of  the  verb,  as  shown  by  that  form  of  it  which  usually  exhibits  the  primary  sense,  is 
to  cut,  to  hew,,  to  shape  by  hewing.  2.  That  it  is  sometimes  used,  in  the  Scriptures,  where  it 
can  not  be  intended  to  express  a  creation  out  of  nothing. 

But,  on  the  contrary,  it  should  be  observed:  1.  That  all  verbs  have,  for  their  etymological 
ground-meaning,  a  physical  act  perceptible  to  the  senses,  from  which  proceed  their  secondary, 
which  are  the  most  usual,  significations.  2.  That  this  verb,  out  of  the  form  which  expresses  the 
primary  physical  meaning,  has  always  God  for  its  subject,  and  is  used  only  when  something 
new,  not  before  existing,  is  produced,  brought  into  existence,  by  the  power  of  God.  See,  for 
example,  Ex.  34  :  10,  properly,  "  Such  as  have  not  been  created"  (brought  iuto  existence)  "  in 
all  the  earth  ;"  Num.  16  :  30,  properly,  "  if  Jehovah  create  a  new  thing ;''  Jer.  31 :  22  ;  Isaiah  4 : 
b  ;  41 :  20,  "  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  has  created  it"  (brought  it  into  existence);  45  :  S  ;  48  : 7 ; 
57:  19;  65:  17,  18.  3.  That  in  this  account  of  the  creation,  it  is  accurately  distinguished  from 
the  Hebrew  verb  meaning  to  make  either  from  nothing  or  from  already  existing  material,  and 
from  the  verb  meaning  to  form  out  of  such  material,  and  hence  is  never  accompanied  by  a  word 
denoting  the  material  of  which  a  tiling  is  made.  4.  That  in  ch.  2  :  3  it  is  expressly  said,  "  which 
God  created  in  making  it," — that  is,  made  by  creation. 

V.  2.  The  form  of  the  earth,  and  its  internal  structure,  show  that  it  was  originally  in  the  state 
kere  described.     How  long  it  continued  in  that  state  is  not  indicated. 

It  was  waste  and  empty ;  namely,  without  order  or  productiveness,  a  barren  waste,  empty  of 
A  1 


Chap.  i.  GENESIS. 

over  the  face  of  the  abyss  ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  was  brood- 
ing over  the  face  of  the  waters. 

3  And  God  said :  Let  there  be  light ;  and  there  was  light. 

4  And  God  saw  the  light,  that  it  was  gc#d.     And  God  divided 
6  between  the  light  and  the  darkness.     And  God  called  the 

light  Day  ;  and  the  darkness  he  called  Night.     And  there 
was  evening,  and  there  was  morning,  one  day. 

6  And  God  said  :  Let  there  be  an  expanse  in  the  midst  of 

7  the  waters  ;  and  let  it  divide  waters  from  waters.     And  God 


all  the  beautiful  varieties  of  organized  life  with  which  it  was  afterward  filled.    Compare  the  op- 
posite description,  in  Psalm  104:  24,  "  The  earth  is  full  of  thy  riches." 

Over  the  dark  abyss  the  Spirit  of  Godicas  brooding;  imparting  to  lifeless  matter  power3 
which  give  it  an  active  agency  in  working  out  the  divine  purposes.  The  Hebrew  word  brood- 
iitg  is  highly  significant;  being  used  of  fowls,  brooding  over  their  eggs  and  imparting  the  vivi- 
fying warmth.  So  the  divine  power  is  represented  as  acting  upon  the  mass  of  inert  matter, 
imparting  the  properties  necessary  to  its  proper  organization,  so  as  to  fit  it  for  sustaining  vege- 
table life,  and  to  be  the  abode  of  animated  and  intelligent  beings. 

V.  3.  One  of  the  most  essential  agencies  of  nature  is  light.  Hence  the  production  of  it  at  this 
stage  of  creation,  as  being  necessary  for  those  processes  of  development  which  must  precede 
the  formation  of  vegetables  and  animals. 

The  nature  of  light,  and  its  physical  cause,  are  still  among  the  unsettled  problems  of  natural 
philosophy,  and  no  satisfactory  solution  of  them  can  be  given.  Hence,  objections  to  the  sacred 
narrative,  founded  on  any  of  the  theories  of  light  and  its  production,  are  without  just  ground.     . 

V.  5.  And  there  was  evening ;  namely,  the  close  of  a  period  of  light  by  the  coming  on  of  dark- 
ness ;  and  there  was  morning,  the  close  of  a  period  of  darkness  by  the  return  of  light ;  the  two 
periods  making  a  day. 

This  is  the  true  idea  of  evening  and  morning.  By  evening  is  meant,  in  Hebrew  as  well  as  in 
English,  the  coming  on  of  darkness  tafter  a  period  of  light;  in  other  words,  the  close  of  day  by 
the  coming  on  of  night.    There  could  be  no  evening,  without  a  previous  period  of  light. 

Day  began,  therefore,  with  light  and  not  with  darkness;  and  one  day  continued,  till  the 
returning  light  marked  the  commencement  of  another. 

The  later  custom  of  the  Hebrews  (Lev.  23  :  32;,  of  reckoning  the  day  from  evening  to  even- 
ing, was  made  necessary  by  the  use  of  the  lunar  calendar,  in  the  observance  of  their  feasts  and 
other  commemorative  seasons,  which  depended  on  the  return  of  the  new  moon.  Where  the 
natural  day  is  meant,  as  in  Lev.  7  :  15,  it  closes  with  the  morning  of  the  following  day. 

VV.  6,  7.  These  verses  describe  the  effect  of  the  formation  of  the  earth's  atmosphere,  under 
the  divine  agency  and  direction,  from  its  elements  in  the  yet  unorganized  earth.  The  result 
was,  as  described  in  v.  7,  the  separation  of  the  dense  sea  of  vapors  above,  from  the  waste  of 
waters  below,  by  the  intervening  expanse. 

The  expanse  (properly,  what  is  outspread)  is  so  called  from  its  apparent  limit  in  the  blue 
vault  above,  where  the  heavenly  bodies  appear,  and  along  which  the  fowls  fly  (v.  20).  This  is 
not  inconsistent  with  the  explanation  here  given  of  the  separation  of  the  waters.  The  sacred 
writer  describes  this  process,  as  he  does  others,  in  terms  suggested  by  the  senses,  as  being 
most  readily  understood. 

Observe  that  the  sacred  writer  says,  God  made  the  expanse, — not,  necessarily,  created  it;  the 
atmosphere  being  composed  of  elements  already  existing.  Compare  No.  3,  in  the  third  para- 
graph on  v.  1. 

But  what  wisdom  and  power  were  necessary,  to  combine  those  elements  in  exact  propor- 
tions fitted  for  the  support  of  vegetable  and  animal  life,  and  with  a  density  suited  to  the  trans- 
mission of  light  to  the  organ  of  vision;  and  so  to  adjust  the  elements  of  earth  and  air  to  each 
other,  that,  through  thousands  of  ages,  these  delicate  proportions  should  never  be  essentially 
disturbed  ! 
And  it  was  so  ;  that  is,  it  became  fixed  and  established.  Jnst  as  God  willed  and  ordered  it. 


GENESIS.  Chap.  i. 


made  the  expanse  ;  and  lie  divided  the  waters  which  are 
under  the  expanse  from  the  waters  which  are  above  the  ex- 

8  panse  ;  and  it  was  so.  And  God  crilled  the  expanse  Heavens. 
And  there  was  evening,  and  there  was  morning,  a  second 
day. 

9  i  And  God  said  :  Let  the  waters  under  the  heavens  gather 
themselves  to  one  place,  and  let  the  dry  land  appear  ;  and 

10  it  was  so.  And  God  called  the  dry  land  Earth,  and  the 
gathering  together  of  the  waters  he  called  Seas  ;  and  God 
saw  that  it  was  good. 

11  "  And  God  said  :  Let  the  earth  put  forth  shoots,  herb  set- 
ting seed,  fruit-tree  bearing  fruit  after  its  kind,  in  which  is 

12  its  seed,  above  the  earth  ;  and  it  was  so.  And  the  earth 
brought  forth  shoots,  herb  setting  seed  after  its  kind,  and 
tree  producing  fruit,  in  which  is  its  seed,  after  its  kind  ;  and 

13  God  saw  that  it  was  good.  And  there  was  evening,  and 
there  was  morning,  a  third  day. 

14  And  God  said :  Let  there  be  lights  in  the  expanse  of  the 
heavens,  for  dividing  between  the  day  and  the  night ;  and 

V.  14.    Lights  :  or,  luminaries 

VV.  9, 10.  These  verses  describe  the  effects  of  the  upheaving  from  the  abyss  of  the  portions 
of  the  earth  which  had  now  become  solidified.  These,  as  is  proved  by  their  structure,  and  by 
the  substances  composing  them,  had  been  formed  under  the  waters ;  and  they  were  now,  by  the 
action  of  internal  forces,  raised  above  the  surface.  This  was  effected  by  the  will  of  that  almighty 
Power,  who  controls  the  agencies  of  nature,  and  is  himself  their  efficient  cause.  As  these  solid 
portions  are  forced  upward,  the  waters  subside  and  "  the  dry  land  appears." 

To  one  place  means,  apart,  by  themselves.  That  more  than  one  receptacle  is  meant,  is  evident 
from  the  plural  seas,  in  v.  10.  By  "  the  gathering  together  of  the  waters,"  is  meant  every  such 
gathering. 

VV.  11-13.  The  earth  is  now  in  a  proper  condition  for  producing  and  sustaining  vegetable 
bfe.  A  suitable  soil  is  formed,  by  the  processes  which  have  been  going  on  among  the  primary 
elements  of  the  earth,  aud  by  the  exposure  of  its  surface,  now  left  dry,  to  the  action  of  air, 
light,  and  warmth.  But  it  could  only  be  by  a  divine  power  that  these  elements  originally  pro- 
duced the  delicate  and  complicated  organism  of  plants,  with  the  wonderful  endowment  of  vege- 
table life.  For  the  vegetable  life  is  not,  any  more  than  the  animal  life,  the  effect  merely  of  a 
certain  mechanical  structure,  with  a  certain  combination  of  material  elements.  Both  are  divinely 
imparted  principles,  differing  in  their  nature,  but  both  communicating  to  inert  matter  peculiar 
powers  of  activity,  growth,  and  strength. 

And  God  said:  Lei  the  earth  put  forth  shoots.  From  the  earth  sprang  up,  by  the  agency  of 
divine  power,  these  organized ^orms,  endowed  with  vegetable  life.  The  language  expresses,  in 
words,  the  will  of  the  Creator,  as  declared  by  the  exertion  of  his  own  power. 

In  which  (fruit)  is  its  (the  tree's)  seed;  that  is,  fruit-tree  whose  seed  is  in  its  fruit.  Above 
the  earth  ;  rising  high  above  it,  in  distinction  from  the  herb,  just  spoken  of. 

The  different  classes  of  vegetation  here  follow  the  order  in  which  they  are  proved  by  science 
to  have  succeeded  each  other. 

W.  14-19.    Institution  of  the  two  great  lights,  and  their  offices.    These  are :  1.  To  divide 

3 


Chap.  i.  GENESIS. 


let  them  be  for  signs  and  for  seasons,   and  for  days  and 
16   years ;   and  let  them  be  for  lights  in  the  expanse  of  the 
heavens,  for  giving  lighten  the  earth ;  and  it  was  so. 

16  And  God  made  the  two  great  lights  ;  the  greater  light 
for  dominion  over  the  day,  and  the  lesser  light  for  dominion 

17  over  the  night ;  and  the  stars.     And  God  set  them  in  the 

18  expanse  of  the  heavens,  to  give  light  on  the  earth  ;  and  to 
rule  over  the  day  and  over  the  night,  and  to  divide  between 
the  light  and  the  darkness  ;  and  God  saw  that  it  was  good. 

19  And  there  was  evening,  and  there  was  morning,  a  fourth 
day. 

20  And  God  said  :  Let  the  waters  swarm  with  swarms  of 
living  beings  ;  and  let  fowl  fly  above  the  earth,  along  the 

21  expanse  of  the  heavens.  And  God  created  the  great  sea- 
monsters,  and  every  living  being  that  moves,  with  which 
the  waters  swarm,  after  their  kind,  and  every  winged  fowl 

22  after  its  kind  ;  and  God  saw  that  it  was  good.     And  God 

V.  1G.     Or,  great  luminaries  lb.   Or,  the  greater  luminary — the  lesser  luminary 

between  the  day  and  the  night,  regulating  the  alternation  of  light  and  darkness.  2.  To  be  for 
signs,  and,  as  such,  for  seasons,  by  marking  Their  return  and  duration,  and/or  days  and  years. 
The  last  two  are  specially  named,  and  in  conjunction,  as  being  the  units  of  measure  chiefly  em- 
ployed in  the  reckoning  of  time ;  while  months,  indicated  by  the  phases  of  the  moon,  and  the 
divisions  of  the  year  caused  by  the  sun's  progress  between  the  equinoctial  and  solstitial  points, 
are  comprehended  under  the  word  seasons.    3.  To  give  light  on  the  earth. 

Thus  these  heavenly  bodies  are  the  great  regulators  of  life,  on  whose  influences  all  its  inter- 
ests are  made  to  depend,  and  whose  motions  chronicle  the  ages  as  they  pass.  Hence  the 
dominion  ascribed  to  them  in  Job  39  :  33, 

Knowest  thou  the  ordinances  of  the  heavens, 
or  dost  thou  establish  their  dominion  over  earth  ? 

It  is  said  in  v.  16  :  "  God  made"  (not  created  ;  sec  No.  3,  in  the  third  paragraph  on  v.  1)  "  the 
two  great  lights."  These  bodies  became  lights  to  the  earth,  at  the  time  when  they  were  made 
its  luminaries,  or  sources  of  light ;  and  they  were  then  "set"  (v.  17)  as  lights  for  the  earth,  "  in 
the  expanse  of  the  heavens." 

The  sun  of  our  system  is  not  a  body  of  simple  and  uniform  substance  ;  nor  is  it  known  what 
changes  were  required  in  its  physical  constitution,  after  the  creation  of  its  substance,  in  order 
to  raakClt  the  great  luminary  of  our  world.  Hence  the  charge  sometimes  made  against  the 
6acred  narrative,  that  it  conflicts  with  the  known  truths  of  astronomy  in  regard  to  the  structure 
of  our  planetary  system,  is  shown  by  the  teachings  of  that  science  to  be  without  just  ground. 

Moreover,  a  certain  condition  of  the  earth's  atmosphere  was  required.  It  was  already  fitted  for 
the  support  of  vegetable  life,  and  for  such  transmission  of  the  sun's  influences  as  was  necessary 
to  that  end.  But  the  heavenly  bodies  could  not  be  made  luminaries  of  the  earth,  without  a  trans- 
parent medium,  through  which  their  light  could  be  conveyed  to  it. 

VV.  20-23.  The  sun  has  now  become  the  great  source  of  light  and  warmth  to  the  earth,  and 
the  time  has  arrived  for  a  higher  stage  of  organic  life,  that  of  the  animal  creation.  It  begins 
with  the  lowest  in  the  scale,  the  inhabitant-;  of  the  waters;  then  follow  the  occupants  of  the  air. 

The  account  here  given  (vv.  20-2S)  indicates  the  ascending  scale,  from  the  lowest  forms  ol 
animal  life  up  to  the  highest,  which  science  has  traced  in  its  vestiges  in  the  earth  itself. 

V.  22.    Blessed  them.    The  blessing  bestowed  wa3  the  power  of  reproduction  and  of  indefinite 

4 


GENESIS.  Chap,  l 


blessed  them,  saying :  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  fill  the 

23  waters  in  the  seas  ;  and  let  fowl  multiply  on  the  earth.  And 
there  was  evening,  and  there  was  morning,  a  fifth  day. 

24  And  God  said  :  Let  the  earth  bring  forth  the  living  being 
after  its  kind,  cattle,  and  reptile,  and  beast  of  the  earth, 

25  after  its  kind ;  and  it  was  so.  And  God  made  the  beast  of 
the  earth  after  its  kind,  and  cattle  after  their  kind,  and 
every  reptile  of  the  ground  after  its  kind ;  and  God  saw 
that  it  was  good. 

26  And  God  said:  We  will  make  man,  in  our  image,   after 

multiplication,  as  expressed  in  the  words  which  follow  and  define  the  meaning,  namely,  "Be 
fruitful,  and  multiply."  It  was  expressed,  of  course  not  in  words,  but  in  the  nature  with  which 
God  endowed  his  creatures,  and  in  the  power  of  reproduction  which  he  bestowed. 

That  the  gift  of  conscious  life,  and  the  power  of  indefinite  propagation  of  it,  was  truly  a  bless- 
ing, and  was  worthy  of  the  divine  Giver,  will  not  be  questioned  by  one  who  finds  pleasure  in 
witnessing  its  innocent  enjoyments ;  nor  will  he  doubt,  that  such  provision  for  happiness,  on  a 
scale  of  inconceivable  extent,  is  a  worthy  expression  of  the  divine  goodness. * 

VV.  24-23.     Another  stage  in  the  production  of  organic  life,  the  creation  of  land  animals. 

The  land  is  now,  as  well  as  the  water  and  air,  fitted  to  be  the  abode  of  animal  life.  Its  sur- 
face is  clothed  with  vegetation,  and  the  air  has  become  purified,  and  thus  adapted  to  the  support 
cf  animal  life  ia  its  higher  and  more  perfect  forms. 

VV.  21,  25.  First,  the  irrational  animals  are  brought  into  existence ;  and  this  accords  with 
what  science  shows  to  have  been  the  order  of  creation. 

Let  the  earth  bring  forth.  The  bodies  of  animals  are  of  the  earth,  being  composed  of  the 
same  material  elements.  Divested  of  its  figurative  form  (so  well  suited  to  the  tone  of  concep- 
tion and  representation  in  this  chapter)  the  language  means :  Let  there  be  living  being-,  of  the 
substance  of  the  earth.  The  boldly  figurative  form  of  the  expression  will  not  mislead  the  atten- 
tive reader,  since  it  is  immediately  added  (v.  25),  "And  God  made  the  beast  of  the  earth." 

Beasl  of  the  earth  :  wild  animals  that  roam  the  earth  without  restraint,  in  distinction  from 
cattle,  the  domestic  animals  whose  home  is  with  man. 

VV.  2G-2  <.     Last  and  highest  stage  in  the  production  of  organic  life,  the  creation  of  ma«. 

The  world  in  its  physical  structure,  and  the  earth  itself,  both  in  its  physical  constitution  and 
in  the  capaeiti-s  of  its  living  occupants,  have  been  fitted  to  subserve  some  other  purpose  than 
thus  far  appear,  in  their  history.  " 

If  we  Look  to  the  earth,  vast  treasures  of  mineral  wealth  have  been  accumulated  within  its 
bosom,  which  there  is  none  to  use  ;  and  in  its  soil  lie  hidden  boundless  powers  of  productive- 
ness, which  there  is  none  to  call  forth. 

If  we  look  to  the  heavens,  there  is  none  to  investigate  the  laws  that  regulate  their  "  dominion 
over  the  earth"  and  profit  by  their  teachings,  or  even  to  be  conscious  of  their  influence,  beyond 
a  passing  sensation  terminating  in  itself.  To  every  creature  of  the  earth,  outside  of  its  own 
momentary  sensations,  creation  is  a  blank;  and  all  this  expenditure  of  wisdom  and  power  ia 
without  intelligible  aim  or  purpose. 

Looking  to  the  moral  aspects  of  the  case,  we  see  that  thus  far  all  the  arrangements  have  been 
physical  in  their  nature,  ministering  only  to  physical  wants,  and  to  enjoyments  into  which  no 
moral  el  merit  enters.  The  divine  Architect  of  ail  is  unrecognized  in  the  wonders  he  has  wrought, 
and  among  the  living  conscious  beings  his  own  hands  have  made. 

The  final  act,  the  creation  of  one  bearing  the  image  and  likeness  of  his  Maker,  capable  of 

comprehending  his  works  in  all  their  extent  and  making  them  serviceable  to  himself,  and  of 

recognizing  God  in  all,  is  proof  of  an  intelligent  and  consistent  plan,  tending  to  and  terminating 

in  this,  its  crowning  work. 

V.  26.     We  will  make  ;  the  language  of  purpose  and  resolve.    The  plural  form  docs  not  nec- 

*A  beautiful  illustration  of  this  thought  may  be  found  in  Paley'a  Natural  Ttieology,  ch. 
xxvi.,  on  the  goodness  of  the  Deity,  in  the  paragraph  beginning,  "  Nor  is  the  design  abortive." 

5 


Chap,  l  GENESIS. 


our  likeness  ;  and  they  shall  rule  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and 
over  the  fowl  of  the  heavens,  and  over  the  cattle,  and  over 
all  the    earth,   and   over  every  reptile   that  creeps   on  the 

27  earth.     And  God  created  the  man,  in  his  image ;  in  the  im- 
age of  God  created  he  him ;  a  male  and  a  female  created 

28  he  them.     And  God  blessed  them  ;  and  God  said  to  them : 
Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  fill  the  earth,  and  subdue  it; 

V.  2G.    Or,  as  our  likeness 

essarily  express  anything  more  than  the  dignity  and  majesty  of  the  speaker;  being  often  appro- 
priated, by  way  of  distinction,  to  personages  of  exalted  rank  and  power.* 

It  has  been  held  by  many,  however,  that  there  is  here,  as  in  "  our  image,  our  likeness,"  an 
intimation  of  the  mystery  of  the  divine  personality,  to  be  afterward  more  clearly  revealed. 

Man.  The  Hebrew  is  adam,  kindred  with  the  word  meaning  ground.  It  is  first  used  strictly 
as  a  proper  name  (Adam)  in  ch.  4  :  25.    It  is  here  used  collectively,  as  man  is  in  English. 

Image,  and  likeness,  two  words  of  nearly  the  same  import,  are  used  to  express  the  thought 
more  fully  and  strongly  than  could  be  done  by  any  single  term.  As  our  likeness  (margin),  is  a 
very  probable  rendering  of  the  Hebrew;  meaning,  in  our  image,  to  be  our  likeness. 

It  was  the  spiritual  nature  of  man  that  was  made  in  the  image  and  after  the  likeness  of  God ; 
for  God  is  spirit  (John  4  :  24),  and  in  no  other  than  a  spiritual  sense  could  man  be  said  to  bear 
his  image.  How  this  is  to  be  understood,  we  learn  from  what  the  apostle  says  of  the  "new 
man,"  in  Eph.  4  :  24,  where  there  is  evident  allusion  (as  appears  from  the  parallel  passage  in 
Col.  3  :  10)  to  what  is  said  here. 

The  rational,  moral,  and  spiritual  nature  of  man  are  all  included  in  "the  image"  and  "the 
likeness"  of  God,  and  were  all  essential  to  that  supremacy  which  was  given  him  over  the  earth 
and  its  occupants.  The  "image  of  God"  did  not,  as  some  have  thought,  consist  in  that  su- 
premacy; man  being  said  to  bear  the  image  of  God,  as  one  representing  his  sovereignty  on 
earth.  On  the  contrary,  the-  sovereignty  conferred  on  man  presupposed  those  spiritual  endow- 
ments, and  was  justified  only  by  his  fitness,  through  them,  to  exercise  it. 

A  male  and  a  female  created  lie  them  ;  that  is,  one  of  each  sex  ;  thus  declaring  the  Creator's 
law  for  the  marriage  relation,  namely,  that  a  man  shall  have  but  one  wife,  and  a  woman  but 
one  husband. 

The  reader  will  not  fail  to  mark  the  peculiar  glow  and  animation  which  characterize  the  ex- 
pression in  these  verses.     They  contain  the  germ  of  the  distinctive  form  of  Hebrew  poetry. 

V.  23.  Fill  the  earth,  and  subdue  it.  This  requirement,  in  accordance  with  the  design  and 
scope  of  the  first  and  more  general  account  of  the  creation,  respects  the  whole  race  of  man; 
passing  over  the  special  provision  for  the  first  human  pair,  which  belongs  to  the  more  particu- 
lar account  of  them  in  the  next  chapter. 

It  was  the  will  of  the  Creator,  that  the  race  of  man  should  "fill  the  earth"  (should  occupy 
it),  "  and  subdue  it"  (bring  it  under  his  control). 

If  we  look  at  the  earth,  as  prepared  for  the  occupancy  of  man,  we  find  little  that  is  made  ready 
for  his  use,  but  boundless  material  which  his  own  labor  and  skill  can  fit  for  it. 

The  spontaneous  fruits  of  the  earth  furnish  a  scanty  and  precarious  subsistence,  even  to  a 
few;  but  with  skillful  labor,  it  is  made  to  yield  an  abundant  supply  for  the  "  wants  of  every  liv- 
ing thing." 

On  its  surface,  many  natural  obstacles  are  to  be  overcome.  Forests  must  be  leveled,  rivers 
bridged  over,  roads  and  canals  constructed,  mountains  graded  or  tunneled,  and  seas  and  oceans 
navigated. 

Its  treasures  of  mineral  wealth  lie  hidden  beneath  its  surface ;  and  when  discovered  and 
brought  to  light,  they  are  valueless  to  man,  till  his  own  labor  subdues  and  fits  them  for  his 

*  The  rendering  of  the  common  English  version,  "  Let  us  make,"  is  not  the  meaning  of  the 
Hebrew.  The  questions,  therefore,  whether  there  was  a  consultation,  and  with  whom  it  was 
held,  and  whether  any  other  than  the  Divine  Being  (angels,  as  some  have  thought)  took  part 
in  the  work,  are  not  raised  by  the  language  of  the  sacred  writer. 

6 


GENESIS.  Chap.  n. 


and  rule  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the 
heavens,  and  over  every  living  thing  that  moves  on  the 
earth. 

And  God  said :  Behold,  I  have  given  to  you  every  herb 

29  scattering  seed,  which  is  on  the  face  of  all  the  earth,  and 
every  tree,  in  which  is  the  fruit  of  a  tree,  scattering  seed, 

30  to  you  shall  it  be  for  food  ;  and  to  every  beast  of  the  earth, 
and  to  every  fowl  of  the  heavens,  and  to  every  thing  that 
creeps  on  the  earth,  wherein  is  a  spirit  of  life,  all  green 
herbage  for  food  ;  and  it  was  so. 

31  And  God  saw  all  that  he  had  made,  and  behold,  it  was 
very  good.  And  there  was  evening,  and  there  was  morn- 
ing, the  sixth  day. 

1  And  so  -were  finished  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  all 

2  their  host.     And  on  the  seventh  day,  God  ended  his  work 

service.  The  various  useful  metals  lie  in  the  crude  ore,  and  must  be  passed  through  difficult 
and  laborious  processes  before  they  can  be  applied  to  any  valuable  purpose.  Iron,  for  example, 
the  most  necessary  of  all,  how  many  protracted  and  delicate  processes  are  required  to  separate 
it  from  impurities  in  the  ore,  to  refine  its  texture,  and  to  convert  it  into  steel,  before  it  can  be 
wrought  into  t  ie  useful  ax  or  knife,  with  the  well  tempered  edge ! 

What  an  education  fur  the  race  has  been  this  labor  of  subduing  the  earth  !  How  it  has  de- 
veloped reflection,  stimulated  invention,  and  cpiickened  the  powers  of  combination,  which  would 
otherwise  have  lain  dormant! 

Nor  are  the  collateral  and  remote  less  important  than  the  direct  and  immediate  results.  Ho 
who  takes  a  piece  of  timber  from  the  common  forest,  and  forms  it  into  a  useful  implement, 
thereby  makes  it  his  own,  and  it  can  not  rightfully  be  taken  from  him;  since  no  one  can  justly 
appropriate  to  himself  the  product  of  another's  skill  and  labor.  So  he  who  originally  takes 
possession  of  an  unappropriated  field,  and  by  his  labor  prepares  it  for  use,  thereby  makes  it  his 
own,  and  it  can  not  rightfully  be  taken  from  him.  Hence  arises  the  right  of  property,  the  ori- 
gin and  bond  of  civil  society;  and  thus  .all  the  blessings  of  society,  and  of  civiliz  tion  and  gov- 
ernment, are  due  to  the  divinely  implanted  impulse,  "  fill  the  earth,  cuid  subdue  it." 

VV.  29,  30.    Provision  for  the  sustenance  of  man  (v.  20),  and  of  other  animals  (v.  30). 

To  man  is  assigned  every  herb  scattering  seed  (propagated  by  seed)  leaving  him  his  choice 
among  them  of  such  as  are  suited  to  his  nature  and  wants,  as  the  different  kinds  of  grain, 
pulse,  etc. ;  and  every  fruit-tree  in  like  manner,  to  choose  among  them  what  is  suited  to  Lis 
taste,  and  adapted  for  his  nourishment.  To  other  animals  is  assigned  all  green  herbage,  without 
distinction. 

V.  31.  God  saw  all  that  he  had  made,  and  behold,  il  was  very  good.  Nothing  but  what  was 
good,  for  Us  object,  could  proceed  from  the  allwise  Creator.  When  men  complain  of  imperfec- 
tion in  his  works,  it  is  because  they  propose  other  ends  than  those  which  he  has  in  viow. 

The  sixth  day,  being  the  last  of  the  six  days  of  creation,  is  for  that  reason  distinguished  by 
the  definite  article,  as  the  completion  of  the  series. 

Ch.  2  :  1.  There  should  be  no  division  here,  the  first  three  verses  belonging  to  the  account 
given  in  the  first  chapter.  The  division  should  be  made  at  the  fourth  verse,  where  another 
account  begins. 

VV.  1-3.     Institution  of  the  Sabbath. 

Their  lioxt.  This  expression  is  often  used  of  the  heavenly  bodies  (as  in  Isaiah  15  :  12),  mov- 
ing like  marshaled  armies  through  the  skies,  and  here  includes  by  a  familiar  figure  {zeugma) 
all  the  objects  on  the  earth's  surface. 

V.  2.    Ended  ;  not  had  ended,  which  the  form  of  the  Hebrew  verb  here  used  never  meana. 

7 


Chap.  n.  GENESIS. 

which  he  made  ;  and  he  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from  all 

3  his  work  which  he  made.  And  God  blessed  the  seventh 
day,  and  hallowed  it ;  because  on  it  he  rested  from  all  his 
work,  which  God  created  in  making  it. 

4  These  are  the  generations  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth, 

The  Creator  did  not  cease  from  his  work  until  the  seventh  day ;  and  on  that  day,  therefore,  it 
came  to  an  end.  "  He  rested  (ceased  from  the  work  of  creation)  on  the  seventh  day,"  as  is 
said  in  the  following  verse. 

V.  3.  Blessed  (he  seventh  day,  distinguished  it,  above  other  days,  by  his  special  regard ;  and 
hallowed  it,  set  it  apart  from  common  and  worldly  uses,  and  consecrated  it  as  a  season  of  sacred 
rest.  His  consecration  of  the  day  makes  it  sacred  for  all  time  ;  and  his  blessing  has  made  it 
rich  in  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual  benefits  to  the  race  of  man. 

The  consecration  of  the  seventh  day  (that  is,  of  every  seventh  day,  a  seventh  portion  of  time) , 
was  made  from  the  beginning,  for  a  reason  of  universal  application,  and  therefore  lor  all 
mankind.  So  long  as  men,  in  obedience  to  the  divine  requirement,  labored  six  successive  days 
and  rested  on  the  seventh,  they  were  continually  reminded  of  God,  their  creator  and  sovereign," 
whom  they  thus  imitated  and  obeyed.  The  necessity  of  this  to  the  maintenance  of  the  knowledge 
of  God  among  men  is  manifest ;  and  its  many  other  advantages  render  it  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  salutary  institutions  of  divine  wisdom  and  goodness. 

But  it  is  held  by  many,  that  the  Sabbath  was  not  instituted  at  this  time ;  principally  on  the 
ground,  that  in  Ex.  1G  :  5,  and  22-30,  it  seems  to  be  spoken  of  as  a  new  institution,  then  for  the 
first  time  established. 

If  so,  it  was  done  in  a  very  incidental  way,  and  not  with  the  formalities  which  might  be  ex- 
pected in  such  a  case.  In  vv.  4  and  5,  God  announces  his  purpose  to  rain  bread  from  heaven; 
and  requires  the  people  to  gather  it  daily,  and  on  the  sixth  day  twice  as  much  as  on  other  days. 
In  v.  23,  Moses  gives  the  explanation  of  this,  namely,  "  To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  holy  Sab- 
bath unto  Jehovah."  It  is  said,  moreover,  in  v.  29,  "  Jehovah  has  given  you  the  Sabbath ;"  but 
of  the  gift  of  it  there  is  no  intimation  in  this  connection. 

This  has  not  the  appearance  of  a  new  institution,  but  rather  of  an  ancient  one  which  had 
fallen  into  disuse,  as  must  have  been  the  case  with  the  Hebrews  during  their  long  bondage  in 
Egypt ;  for  they  certainly  would  not  be  allowed  to  claim  exemption,  one  day  in  seven,  from  the 
toil  imposed  by  their  task-masters.  A  fit  opportunity  was  chosen  for  reviving  its  observance, 
namely,  one  which  would  signalize  its 'weekly  return,  by  withholding  on  that  day  the  usual 
eupply  of  bread. 

Ch.  2  :  4 — 3  :  24.  Second  part  of  the  first  division  :  Continued  account  of  the  creation,  with 
special  reference  to  the  first  humanpair ;  their  temptation  and  fall. 

The  account  of  the  creation  is  here  resumed,  but  with  special  reference  to  man,  and  in  order 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  account  of  his  temptation  and  fall,  and  of  its  consequences  to  the 
whole  creation.  Hence  he  is  the  leading  subject  of  this  section,  and  all  other  things  are  viewed 
in  their  relations  to  him,  as  the  head  and  represents  ive  of  all. 

Jehovah  God  is  the  name  by  which  the  Divine  Being  is  designated  in  this  section.  The  He- 
brew word  rendered  God  (Elohim),  being  the  intensive  plural  of  the  word  meaning  worshiped, 
denotes  the  supreme  objeot  of  worship.  To  this  is  sometimes  prefixed,  as  in  this  section,  the 
epecial  name  Jehovah  (the  Eternal)  by  which  the  trne  God  revealed  himself,  in  di-tinction  from 
the  false  gods  worshiped  among  men.  As  a  proper  name,  it  should  be  retained,  and  not  trans- 
lated. 

V.  4.  This  verse  has  by  some  been  regarded  as  the  conclusion  of  the  preceding  narrative. 
In  their  view,  the  writer  means  :  "  These  (referring  to  what  precedes)  are  the  generations  of  the 
heavens  and  the  earth."  But  to  this  there  are  decisive  objections  in  the  customary  usage  of  the 
Hebrew ;  and  the  verse  is  now  generally  understood  to  be  an  introduction  to  what  follows. 

Generations.  The  import  of  this  word  here  must  be  learned  from  its  use  in  other  passages. 
It  properly  means  binhs,  and  by  metonymy,  a  record  of  births.  As  such  a  record  often  contained 
incidents  of  family  history  (as  in  ch.  5,  and  especially  in  vv.  24,  29)  the  word  came  to  be  some- 
times used  of  these  alone.    Thus  iu  ch.  6,  the  ninth  and  following  verses,  under  the  heading 

8 


GENESIS.  Chap.  n. 


when   they  were   created,   in   the   clay  that  Jehovah   God 
made  earth  and  heavens. 
6       Now  there  was  yet  no  plant  of  the  field  in  the  earth,  and 
no  herb  of  the  field  had  yet  sprung  up ;  for  Jehovah  God 
had  not  yet  caused  it  to  rain  on  the  earth,  and  there  was  no 

6  man  to  till  the  ground.  And  there  went  up  mist  from  the 
earth  ;  and  it  watered  all  the  face  of  the  ground. 

7  And  Jehovah  God  formed  the  man  of  dust  of  the  ground  ; 
and  he  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  the 
man  became  a  living  soul. 

"  generations  of  Noah,"  instead  of  a  record  of  births,  we  find  only  the  leading  incidents  of  his 
own  life  and  times. 

So  here,  under  the  heading  "  generations  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth ,"  we  have  a  record  of 
the  continuation  and  further  development  of  their  own  history,  in  events  connected  with  them 
as  ports  of  the  same  great  plan. 

VV.  5,  6.  As  man  is  the  special  subject  of  this  section,  what  relates  immediately  to  him  19 
briefly  stated  again,  and  in  the  order  which  its  relation  to  him  naturally  suggests.  See  remarks 
on  v.  9  and  v.  19.  What  is  said  here,  and  in  vv.  8,  9,  coincides  in  time  with  the  account  of  the 
third  day,  in  the  first  chapter. 

V.  6.  This  language  not  inaptly  describes  the  usual  process  of  the  formation  of  clouds,  by 
vapors  rising  from  the  earth,  and  their  descent  in  the  form  of  rain.  Cut  the  language  may  re- 
fer, as  some  suppose,  to  a  time  when  mists  enveloped  the  earth,  and  thus  supplied  the  land  with 
moisture. 

V.  7.  Formed  the  man  of  dust  of  the  ground.  See  the  remarks  on  ch.  1  :  27,  the  fifth  para- 
graph. A  comparison  of  the  two  passag<  s  shows  that  man  has  a  higher  spiritual  nature,  made  in 
the  likeness  of  God,  as  well  as  a  material  animal  nature,  kindred  with  that  of  the  brutes. 

Here  it  is  said,  that  God  formed  the  man  (see  No.  3  in  the  third  paragraph  on  ch.  1  : 1),  and  it  is 
added,  "of  dust  of  the  ground;"  while  in  ch.  1  :  27,  God  is  said  to  have  "created  the  man." 
But  the  difference  is  only  apparent,  and  is  occasioned  by  the  difference  in  the  writer's  object  in 
the  two  passages.  In  ch.  1  :  27  the  statement  is  general,  without  any  specification  of  man's  re- 
lation to  the  material  world.  But  here  we  are  taught,  that  man's  body  is  composed  of  the  same 
substances  as  the  ground  from  which  it  draws  its  sustenance,  from  which  its  waste  is  continually 
supplied,  and  to  which  its  elements  ultimately  return.  Chemistry  detects  in  the  animal  framo 
the  same  elements  as  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  earth;  and  this  fact  is  figuratively  ex- 
pressed in  the  statement,  "  formed  the  man  of  dust  of  the  ground.'' 

Breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life ;  that  is,  animated  him  with  a  principle  of  life. 
The  thought  is  most  naturally  expressed  under  this  physical  form,  since  the  life  of  the  body  is 
dependent  on  the  breath. 

It  is  proper  to  add,  that  very  able  interpreters,  whose  opinions  are  entitled  to  respect  (Delitzsch, 
Lange,  Murphy,  and  others),  suppose  these  words  to  express  the  imparting  from  God  of  that 
spiritual  element,  in  which  man's  likeness  to  him  consists.  Hence  they  find  here  a  recognition 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  threefold  nature  of  man,  body,  soul,  and  spirit  (1  Thess.  5  :  23).  But  ad- 
mitting the  truth  of  the  doctrine,  it  may  still  be  questioned,  whether  they  do  not  interpret  into 
the  passage  more  than  is  fairly  interpreted  out  of  it.  They  admit,  moreover,  that  the  Scriptures 
sometimes  speak  of  man's  nature  as  twofold  (body  and  soul),  including  soul  and  spirit  under  one 
term.  Here  there  seems  to  be  no  more  implied  than  is  recognized  in  Isaiah  2  :  22,  where  it  is 
said,  with  probable  reference  to  this  passage  :  "  Cease  ye  from  man, in  whoso  nostrils  is  breath  ;"* 
only  breath,  so  frail  a  principle  of  life,  and  so  easily  extinguished  !  Hence  it  is  added  :  "  For 
wherein  is  he  to  be  accounted  of?"  Of  what  account,  as  a  refuge,  is  he  ! 
A  living  soul.    The  Hebrew  word  (nephesh)  here  rendered  soul,  includes  all  beings  that  have 

*  Not.  aa  in  the  common  English  version,  "  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils;"  for  where  else 
should  it  be  ?  The  objection  is  not  to  its  place  in  the  body,  which  is  the  proper  one  for  it,  but 
to  its  frail  and  perishable  nature. 

9 


Chap.  n.  GENESIS. 


8  And  Jehovah  God  planted   a  garden  in   Eden,   on   the 

9  east;   and  there  he  put  the  man  whom  he  formed.     And 
Jehovah  God  caused  to  spring  up  out  of  the  ground  every 
tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight,  and  good  for  food,  and' 
the  tree  of  life  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  and  the  tree  of 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil. 

10  And    a   stream   went    forth    from    Eden,    to   water    the 
garden ;  and  from  thence  it  parted  itself,  and  became  four 

11  heads.     The  name  of  the  first  is  Pishon.     This  is  that  which 

animal  life ;  and  hence  it  is  applied  to  animals  of  the  sea  and  land,  in  ch.  1  :  20,  21,  24,  30.  Thf 
English  word  soul  (like  the  German  Seele),  originally  kad  this  extent  of  meaning,  as  in  vv.  20 
and  30,  in  the  margin  of  the  common  English  version.  But,  as  the  word  is  now  used,  it  would 
misrepresent  the  meaning  in  those  passages. 

What  man  was,  the  statement  in  ch.  1  :  27  leaves  no  room  to  doubt;  for  he  was  created  "in 
the  image  and  likeness  of  God."  The  Hebrew  expresses  by  the  same  word,  nephesh,  not  only 
the  animal  life,  common  to  men  and  beasts,  but  also  the  higher  nature  of  man,  the  rational  soul, 
by  which  he  is  distinguished  from  brute  beasts.  The  former  is  sometimes  its  exclusive  sense ; 
but  it  may  also  include  the  latter,  where,  as  in  this  passage,  it  is  squally  pertinent.  The  term* 
soul  is,  therefore,  its  proper  English  equivalent  here. 

V.  8.  Eden  ;  that  is,  delight,  pleasure;  as  the  plural  is  used  in  Psalm  36  :  8,  "-the  river  of  thy 
pleasures."  On  the  east ;  eastward,  in  reference  to  the  position  of  the  writer,  and  those  imme- 
diately addressed  by  him. '  On  the  site  of  Eden,  see  the  remarks  on  vv.  10-14. 

V.  9.  Caused  to  spring  up.  This  fact  is  not  here  stated  in  its  place  in  the  actual  order  of 
events,  which  is  already  given  in  the  first  chapter.  Man  being  the  special  subject  of  this  sec- 
tion, his  formation  is  stated  first ;  and  then  follows  the  account  of  the  provision  already  made 
for  his  subsistence.  Compare  the  remarks  on  v.  19.  If  the  sacred  writer's  object  is  thus  kept 
in  view,  the  perfect  agreement  of  the  two  accounts,  in  the  sequence  of  events,  will  be  apparent. 

Tree  of  life — tree  of  knowledge ;  see  remarks  on  v.  17,  and  at  the  close  of  the  third  chapter. 

VV.  10-14.  Two  of  the  rivers  here  mentioned,  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates,  are  identified  by 
their  mimes  ;  and  it  is  useless  to  look  for  the  site  of  E<len  beyond  the  region  of  country  to  which 
they  beiong.  An  inspection  of  a  correct  map  shows  the  accuracy  of  the  description  here  given. 
All  the  principal  rivers  of  this  region  have  their  origin  within  a  short  distance  of  each  other, 
around  a  central  body  of  water,  and  run  thence  in  different  directions,  that  is,  are  divided  or 
parted  thence,  as  the  sacred  writer  expresses  it.  Of  course,  his  object  is  not  a  minute  topo- 
graphical description,  but  a  general  and  impressive  conception,  as  a  whole. 

From  llience  itparted  itself;  namely,  from  Eden,  its  source  ;  or  from  the  garden,  as  it  is  not 
unreasonable  to  suppose  that  this  embraced  the  region  of  Eden  around  the  sources  of  these  riv- 
ers. The  idea  of  the  sacred  writer  seems  to  be,  that  from  Eden  and  the  garden  situated  in  it, 
as  a  centre,  proceeded  four  principal  streams,  flowing  thence  in  different  directions.  Of  course 
he  does  not  m^an,  that  it  went  forth  from  Eden  before  it  served  to  water  the  garden;  for  in  that 
case,  the  garden  would  have  been  situated  outside  of  Eden.  Nor  does  he  say,  that  a  single 
stream  or  river,  after  passing  through  and  watering  the  garden,  then  parted  and  became  four ; 
a  gross  conception  of  the  writer's  language,  and  one  that  does  great  injustice  to  his  beautiful 
description. 

The  region  of  ancient  Eden  was,  therefore,  in  the  highlands  of  Armenia,  around  the  sources 
of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates.  Its  climate,  as  that  of  other  parts  of  the  earth,  has  undergone 
great  change  in  the  course  of  more  than  sixty  centuries.  Such  a  region,  blessed  with  a  genial 
climate,  and  clothed  with  perpetual  verdure,  was  a  fit  abode  for  man,  in  his  primaeval  innocence. 

There  is  no  necessity  for  assuming  that  the  geographical  features  of  this  region  have  greatly 
changed  :  and  though  it  is  now  difficult,  through  changes  in  the  names  of  districts  and  rivers,  to 
identify  with  certainty  all  that  are  mentioned  here,  yet,  with  a  reasonable  interpretation  of  the 
writer's  language,  enough  remains  to  determine  the  site  of  ancient  Eden,  and  to  prove  the  ac- 
curacy the  writer's  description. 

V.  11.    Pishon.    This  river,  it  is  said,  "traverses  the  whole  land  of  Havilah."    By  some  it  has 

10 


GENESIS.  Chap,  ii. 


traverses  the  whole  land  of  Havilah,  where  there  is  gold. 

12  And  the  gold  of  that  land  is  good.  There  is  bdellium,  and 
the  onyx  stone. 

13  '  And  the  name  of  the  second  river  is  Gihon.  This  is  that 
which  traverses  the  whole  land  of  Cush. 

14  And  the  name  of  the  third  river  is  Tigris.  This  is  that 
which  goes  on  the  east  of  Assyria.  And  the  fourth  river, 
that  is  Euphrates. 

15  And  Jehovah  God  took  the  man,  and  put  him  in   the 

been  identified  with  the  Phasis  (flowing  from  the  east  into  the  Euxine  Sea),  and  Havilah  with 
the  ancient  Colchis,  from  the  similarity  in  the"  consonant  elements.  "By  others  the  river  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  Araxes,  called  Phasis  by  an  ancient  wijiter.  To  both  suppositions  it  is  objected, 
that  Havilah  is  elsewhere  mentioned  as  a  southern  land.  But  the  son  of  Joktan  (ch.  10  :  29) 
from  whom  that  region  was  named,  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  son  of  Cush  (ch.  10:7)  by 
whose  desceudants  the  more  northern  region  was  occupied;  and  the  application  of  the  word  in 
this  more  ancient  record  need  not  be  limited  by  a  later  usage. 

V.  12.  Bdellium;  a  substance  well  known  in  the  time  of  Moses,  for  he  refers  to  it  in  describ- 
ing the  appearance  of  manna,  in  Num.  11  :  7;  but  in  the  time  of  the  oldest  interpreters  all  cer- 
tain knowledge  of  it  was  lost.  Conjecture  has  suggested  various  precious  stones,  as  the  beryl, 
carbuncle,  ruby,  crystal,  and  also  the  pearl.  It  was  probably  a  vegetable  gum,  much  prized  for 
burning  as  incense. 

V.  13.     The  second  river  (Gihon)  it  is  said,  "  traverses  the  whole  land  of  Cush." 

A  branch  of  the  descendants  of  Cush  (ch.  10  :  8-12)  early  took  possession  of  the  plains  through 
which  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  flowed,  built  Babel  on  the  latter  and  Nineveh  near  the  head- 
waters of  the  former,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  empires.  That 
they  should  have  extended  over  this  whole  region,  and  that  the  name  of  Cush,  the  common  an- 
cestor, should  have  been  given  to  a  portion  of  it,  though  afterward  restricted  to  a  more  southern 
region,  is  highly  probable  in  itself. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  an  unreasonable  admission,  that  the  sacred  writer  was  correct  in  speak- 
ing of  Cush  as  the  early  name  of  a  district  in  this  region,  and  of  a  river  flowing  through  i:  then 
called  the  Gihon;  whether,  with  some,  we  suppose  it  to  have  been  the  ancient  Cyrus  (the  Cur), 
or  the  Zabana,  one  of  the  largest  confluents  of  the  Tigris,  rising  near  the  sources  of  that  river, 
and  traversing  one  of  the  large  districts  just  referred  to,  as  occupied  by  the  immediate  descend- 
ants of  Cush. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected,  in  such  a  case,  that  every  point  can  be  established  by  direct  historic- 
al evidence.  But  it  is  clear,  that  the  writer's  representation  is  a  possible  one  ;  and  we  are  not 
forced  to  the  conclusion,  that  it  is  an  impossible  combination  of  rivers  and  lands  remote  from 
one  another,  which  could  exist,  therefore,  only  in  the  imagination,  and  could  serve  no  purpose 
but  to  symbolize  certain  great  truths  of  universal  interest. 

V.  11.  Tigris;  Hebrew,  Hiddekti,  the  common  name  of  the  river  Tigris,  which,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  Euphrates  in  the  next  clause,  was  preserved  through  all  ages  ;  both  rivers  being  too 
well  known  to  lose  their  distinctive  appellations,  when  once  become  familiar. 

On  the  east  of  Assyria  ;  either  in  its  eastern  part,  or  on  the  eastern  side  of  it.  The  writer 
speaks  of  Assyria  as  it  was  in  the  earliest  period  of  its  history.  The  country  began  to  be  oc- 
cupied by  emigration  from  the  west  (ch.  10  :  11),  and  the  progress  eastward  of  the  Tigris  was 
of  later  date.  The  seat  of  government  was  originally  west  of  the  Tigris  (as  is  shown  by  recent 
discoveries  in  the  ruins  of  ancient  cities  of  Mesopotamia),  and  continued  to  be  so  long  after  the 
time  of  Moses. 

VV.  15-17.  The  account  of  man  is  here  re-umed,  and  the  terms  are  given  on  which  he  was  to 
enjoy  this  state  of  felicity,  provided  by  his  Creator. 

Took— and  put,  properly  denotes  transfer,  from  one  place  or  condition  to  another.  But  under 
this  form,  the  writer  expresses  nothing  more  than  that  special  provision  was  made  for  man's 
necessities  and  enjoyment.    It  was  not  his  natural  and  necessary  condition,  is  the  writer's  mean- 

11 


Chap.  ii.  GENESIS. 


16  garden  of  Eden,  to  till  it,  and  to  keep  it.  And  Jehovah 
God   commanded  the  man,  saying :    Of  every  tree   of  the 

17  garden  thou  mayest  freely  eat.  But  of  the  tree  of 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it ; 
for .  in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely 
die. 

18  And  Jehovah  God  said  :  It  is  not  good  that  the  man 
should  be  alone.  I  will  make  for  him  a  helper,  suited 
to  him. 

19  And  Jehovah  God  formed  out  of  the  ground  every 
beast  of  the  field,  and  every  fowl  of  the  heavens.     And  he 

ing,  but  one  specially  provided  for  him,  and  into  which  he  was  brought,  so  to  speak,  by  the  favor 
of  his  Creator. 

To  till  it,  and  to  keep  it ;  that  is,  to  cultivate  the  ground,  and  to  guard  its  products  from  in- 
jury, the  two  principal  occupations  of  the  husbandman. 

Occupation  is  essential  to  happiness ;  and  not  merely  occupation  of  the  mind,  but  of  the  bodj', 
such  as  will  preserve  it  in  a  healthy  condition,  making  it  a  fit  abode  and  an  efficient  instrument 
of  the  soul  that  inhabits  it.  It  was  not  till  sin  had  changed  man's  relations  to  the  Divine  Being, 
that  his  relation  to  physical  nature,  and  dependence  on  it,  became  a  source  of  painful  care  and 
toil,  of  physical  suffering,  disease,  and  death. 

V.  17.  Tree  of  knoirtedge  of  good  and  evil.  With  this  mode  of  designating  the  tree,  compare 
the  one  in  ch.  3  :  3,  and  the  remarks  at  the  end  of  that  chapter. 

What  God,  the  gracious  and  all-wise  Creator,  wills  and  commands,  that  is  his  creature's  good  ; 
what  he  forbids  is  his  creature's  evil. 

Reversed  (as  in  beings  fallen  away  from  God)  the  proposition  stands:  What  the  creature 
wills,  that  is  his  good  ;  and  what  he  wills  not  is  his  evil. 

By  disregarding  the  divine  will,  and  deciding  and  acting  on  his  own,  man  chose  to  know  for 
himself  what  is  good  and  what  is  evil.  So  the  words  of  the  Divine  Being  are  to  be  understood, 
in  ch.  3  :  22.  (See  the  remarks  on  the  passage.)  The  fact  that  consequences  ensued,  giving 
still  further  significance' to  the  terms,  does  not  conflict  with  the  true  interpretation  of  this  lan- 
guage of  the  Creator. 

Thou  shall  nol  eat  of  it.  The  principle  of  conscious  obedience  to  the  divine  will  is  the  first 
step  in  moral  progress,  and  the  essential  element  of  true  happiness.  Consequently,  the  con- 
scious recognition  of  that  will  is  the  first  condition  of  man's  development  as  a  moral  being,  and 
of  his  continued  progress  in  holiness  and  happiness.  Hence  a  test  was  required,  to  awaken  that 
conscious  recognition,  and  to  give  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  his  freedom  of  choice  and  action. 

A  test  of  obedience  is,  therefore,  an  expression  of  the  truest  love  and  care;  and  the  more 
simple  the  test,  the  better  it  serves  the  purpose  intended  by  the  love  that  appoints  it.  Hence, 
numerous  acts  of  obedience  were  not  made  the  test.  One  act  was  forbidden ;  all  else  was  al- 
lowed. Of  the  principle  of  obedience,  no  test  could  have  been  more  simple  and  direct,  or  more 
easily  apprehended  ;  and  hence  it  was  a  perfect  test. 

Thou  shalt  surely  die.  The  nature  and  full  extent  of  the  threatened  punishment,  and  how  it 
would  take  effect,  must  be  learned  from  the  result,  as  stated  in  the  next  chapter. 

VV.  18-24.  The  relation  of  the  two  sexes,  and  the  nature  of  the  marriage  relation,  are  here 
shown  by  a  more  circumstantial  account  of  their  origin  than  is  given  in  the  first  chapter.  There 
man  is  represented  more  generally,  in  his  relation  to  nature  both  animate  and  inanimate,  as  its 
constituted  head  and  ruler.  Here  (second  and  third  chapters)  he  is  represented  in  his  relation 
to  history ;  and  hence  all  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  first  great  moral  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  world  arc  minutely  detailed. 

V.  19.  Jehovah  God  formed,  etc.  Here,  again,  the  sacred  writer  states  the  fact,  without  ob- 
serving its  chronological  order.  It  was  necessary  to  make  the  statement  at  this  point  in  the 
narrative,  iu  order  to  show  that  the  creation  of  another  being  was  required,  as  a  suitable  com- 

12 


GENESIS.  Chap.  n. 


brought  them  to  the  man,  to  see  what  he  would  call  them  ; 
and  whatever  the  man  should  call  every  living  being,  that 
should  be  its  name. 

20  And  the  man  gave  names  to  all  cattle,  and  to  the  fowl 
of  the  heavens,  and  to  every  beast  of  the  field  ;  but  for  the 
man  there  was  not  found  a  helper,  suited  to  him, 

21  And  Jehovah  God  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  upon  the 
man,  and  he  slept ;  and  he  took  one  of  his  ribs,  and  closed 

22  up  the  flesh  in  its  place.  And  of  the  rib,  which  he  took 
from  the  man,' Jehovah  God  formed  a  woman,  and  brought 

23  her  to  the  man.     And  the  man  said :  This  now  is  bone  of 

V.  20.      0  \  but  for  man,  lie  found  not 

panion  for  man.  The  statement  is  not,  therefore,  in  conflict  with  that  given  in  the  first  chapter, 
but  is  inserted  here  where  the  connection  requires  it,  though  not  in  its  chronological  order.* 

The  object  of  the  writer  is  still  further  apparent,  from  his  mentioning  only  the  occupants  of 
earth  and  air,  elements  common  to  them  and  to  man. 

Out  of  the  ground.     Compare  the  remarks  on  eta.  1  :  24,  and  on  ch.  2  :  7. 

To  see  what  he  would  call  them;  that  is,  how  he  would  name  them,  from  observing  their  struc- 
ture, habits,  etc.  It  would  thus  appear,  whether  he  recognized,  in  the  various  beings  brought 
before  him,  one  suited  to  be  his  companion.  But  he  could  give  no  one  a  name  that  indicated 
any  relation  to  man.  It  was  not  till  the  one  formed  expressly  for  him  was  bronglit,  that  he  ex- 
claimed, "  This  shall  be  called  woman  ;"  expressing,  by  that  appellation,  the  relation  to  himself, 
which  he  recognized  in  the  newly  formed  being. 

That  should  be  its  name  ;  indicating  man's  supremacy.  By  giving  to  each  animal  its  name, 
according  to  its  i-tructure  and  capacities,  he  assigns  to  each  its  character  and  rank,  and  is  thus 
the  recognized  lord  of  creation.     Compare  ch.  1  :  26,  28. 

W.  21-24.  It  is  now  made  evident  to  man,  that  he  is  alone  in  the  world  of  which  lie  is  the 
head.  He  is  made  ruler  of  a  creation,  full  of  inanimate  and  animate  life,  where  lie  finds  no  com- 
panionship; abounding  in  the  products  of  divine  wisdom  and  goodnes--,  in  which  none  can  in- 
telligently participate  with  him.  What  is  now  to  be  done  for  him?  To  create  another  human 
being,  wholly  distinct  in  substance  from  himself,  would  introduce  into  the  world  a  being  inde- 
pendent of  himself,  antagonistic  to  him,  and  having  no  hold  on  his  sympathies  as  a  part  of  him- 
self.  As  the  creation  of  only  one  human  pair  is  the  point  of  unity  for  all  the  races  of  meh.f  so 
the  mode  of  their  creation  is  the  point  of  unity  for  the  two.  They  are  one  in  nature,  in  sub- 
fctance,  and  in  vitality ;  and  in  this  relation  of  woman  to  man,  as  part  of  himself,  is  founded  the 
moral  relation  of  marriage,  as  an  inseparable  life-union. 

V.  23.     This  now,  etc.;  the  language  of  joyful  surprise,  on  beholding  the  object  of  his  long 

*  The  rendering,  "  had  formed,"  assumed  by  some,  is  false  translation,  the  Hebrew  verbal 
form  here  used  never  having  that  sense.  This  rendering  does,  indeed,  correctly  represent  tin: 
facts,  but  not  the  sacred  writer's  statement  of  them.  It  is  interpretation,  therefore,  and  not 
translation.  The  reader  of  the  version  is  as  competent  to  interpret  the  writer's  language,  as  the 
translator  is  to  do  it  lor  him;  and  it  is  his  right  to  do  it  fur  himself. 

f  The  proofs  of  this  unity,  existing  in  the  organism  of  all  the.-e  races,  are  well  exhibited  in 
the  following  compressed  statement,  by  Prof.  Delitzsch  (Genesis,  p.  200)  :  "  That  the  races  of 
men  are  not  species  of  one  genus,  but  arc  varieties  of  one  species,  is  proved  by  the  agree- 
ment of  the  physiological  and  pathological  phenomena  in  all  men;  the  same  anatomical  struc- 
ture, the  same  elementary  powers  and  traits  of  mind,  the  same  limits  to  the  duration  of  life, 
liability  to  the  same  diseases,  the  same  normal  temperature  of  the  body  and  the  sam  •  mean 
frequency  of  the  pulse,  the  same  du-ation  of  pregnancy,  the  periodicity  of  the  catamenia,  the 
unrestricted  fruitfulness  of  the  cohabitation  of  all  races  with  one  another.  Such  sameness  is 
nowhere  found  in  the  animal  world,  among  the  species  of  one  genus." 

13 


Chap.  in.  GENESIS. 


my  bones,  and   flesh  of  my   flesh.      This  shall  be   called 

24  Woman ;  because  from  man  was  she  taken.  Therefore 
shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  shall 
cleave  to  his  wife ;  and  they  shall  be  one  flesh. 

25  And  they  were  both. naked,  the  man  and  his  wife,  and 
were  not  ashamed. 

1       Now  the  serpent  was  more  crafty  than  any  beast  of  the 

and  fruitless  search.  All  other  animals  he  had  found  associated  in  pairs,  adapted  in  form  and 
nature  to  each  other.  Now  at  length  one  is  brought  to  him,  suited  to  himself,  "bone  of  his 
bone,  and  flesh  of  his  flesh;"  such  as  he  himself,  and  of  himself. 

Man  has  now  a  fitting  companion;  formed  by  the  divine  Architect,  after  his  own  ideal  of  hu- 
man beauty  and  loveliness  ;  in  person  the  counterpart  of  himself,  but  with  softened  and  more 
graceful  lines,  and  wanting  his  hardy  strength,  as  one  to  be  loved,  cherished,  and  protected;  his 
equal  in  range  of  thought,  without  his  rugged  vigor  of  intellectual  strength ;  in  all  the  traits, 
both  of  mind  and  person,  fitted  to  soften,  refine,  and  ennoble  his  nature. 

V.  24.  Whether  we  regard  this  as  said  by  Adam,  or  as  added  by  the  sacred  writer,  it  is  a 
part  of  the  divine  ordinance  of  marriage.  As  such  it  is  referred  to  by  the"  Savior  (Matt.  19  : 5), 
and. by  the  apostle  (Eph.  5  :  31);  and  it  affirms,  in  words,  the  divine  law  of  the  marriage  rela- 
tion, already  declared  in  the  creation  of  one  of  each  sex. 

The  language  here  is  remarkable.  It  is  the  man  who  shall  forsake  all  other  relations,  for  this 
one.  From  the  last  clause  of  ch.  3  :  16  we  may  infer  a  change  in  woman's  position,  occasioned 
by  the  apostasy  from  God.  In  proportion  as  divine  revelation  has  counteracted  its  evils,  and 
brought  man  nearer  to  his  original  state,  the  position  of  woman  in  this  relation  has  risen,  and 
she  has  regained  her  rightful  and  salutary  influence. 

Shall  be  one  flesh;  an  intimacy  of  union,  a  oneness,  and  a  sameness,  which  can  be  expressed  in 
no  other  terms. 

The  apostle  (Eph.  5  :  28,  29)  thus  beautifully  expands  the  thought:  "  So  husbands  ought  to 
love  their  wives  as  their  own  bodies.  He  that  loves  his  wife  loves  himself.  For  no  one  ever 
hated  his  own  flesh,  but  nourishes  and  cherishes  it." 

V.  25.  These  words  are  intended  to  express  perfect  and  childlike  innocence.  Shame  is  a 
species  of  self-reproach,  and  can  not  be  felt  by  perfectly  holy  beings.  The  language  here  used 
is  intelligible  to  all;  and  under  every  form  of  society,  it  would  be  understood  to  express  abso- 
lute purity  and  innocence. 

Ch.  3.    Account  of  the  temptation  and  fall  of  man. 

In  the  moral  condition  and  history  of  the  race,  there  are  fundamental  problems,  of  which  the 
Bible  furnishes  the  only  solution.     One  of  these  may  be  stated  thus  : 

Man  is  conscious  to  himself,  that  whatever  sinful  acts  he  commits  are  his  own  acts;  that  they 
are  the  expression  of  his  own  free  will,  and  that  he  himself,  and  no  one  else,  is  accountable  for 
them. 

At  the  same  time,  he  perceives  in  himself  an  innate,  natural  tendency  to  evil,  manifesting 
itself  in  the  earliest  developments  of  his  moral  consciousness,  and  of  its  own  nature  producing 
sinful  acts. 

He  is  conscious  to  himself  that  this  innate  tendency  to  evil  does  not  justify  or  excuse  his  sinful 
acts,  and  that  the  tendency  itself  can  not  be  justified  or  excused,  any  more  than  the  acts  to 
which  it  leads ;  and  he  holds  himself  blameworthy  for  the  one  as  well  as  for  the  other. 

These  seeming  discrepancies  find  their  explanation  in  the  facts  here  recorded.  The  individu- 
al man  is  not  an  isolated  being,  but  stands  in  organic  connection  with  a  race  estranged  from 
God,  and  he  shares  the  common  guilt  and  common  accountability.  He  can  not  disavow  either, 
without  disowning  the  moral  instincts  of  his  own  nature. 

The  facts  of  human  nature  and  human  history  require,  therefore,  for  their  explanation,  such 
a  transaction  as  is  here  recorded.* 

*  The  writer  here  speaks  only  of  the  universal  consciousness  of  depravity  and  guilt,  irrespective 
of  any  theory  of  our  connection  wi.h  Adam's  transgression  and  its  consequences. 

14 


GENESIS.  Chap.  m. 


field  which  Jehovah  God  made.  And  he  said  to  the 
woman  :  Is  it  even  so,  that  God  has  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat 
of  any  tree  of  the  garden  ? 

And  the  woman  said  to  the  serpent :  Of  the  fruit  of  the 
trees  of  the  garden  we  may  eat.     But  of  the  fruit  of  the 


V.  1.  Was  more  crafty,  etc.  So  the  serpent  has  been  represented  in  all  ages.  Compare 
Matt.  10  :  16,  "  wise  as  serpents."  The  tempter  having  assumed  the  form  of  a  serpent,  the  rep- 
resentation is  consistently  carried  out ;  and  hence  the  allusion  here  to  its  reputed  craft. 

That  the  serpent  was  merely  the  instrument  of  an  evil  spirit  is  apparent  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  as  well  as  from  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures.*  It  can  not  be  supposed  that  the  ser- 
pent could,  of  itself,  devise  and  execute  a  plan  for  the  deception  and  ruin  of  our  first  parents. 
The  Savior  says  of  the  Evil  One  (John  S  :  44):  "  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning.  *  *  * 
When  he  speaks  a  lie,  he  speaks  of  his  own;  because  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father  of  it;"  refer- 
ring to  the  first  act  of  deception  on  earth,  of  which  he  was  the  author.  In  1  John  3  :  8,  it  13 
said  :  "  The  Devil  sins  from  the  beginning ;"  referring  to  this  act.  Compare  Rev.  12  : !)  (and  20 : 
2)  :  "  The  great  dragon  was  cast  down,  the  old  serpent,  called  the  Devil  and  i-atan."  In  Rom. 
16  :  20,  the  apostle  says  (with  evident  allusion  to  the  curse  pronounced  on  the  serpent  in  v.  15 
of  this  chapter):  "  The  God  of  peace  will  shortly  bruise  Satan  under  your  feet." 

In  order  to  understand  how  appropriate  an  instrument  the  serpent  was  for  the  tempter's  pur- 
pose, we  must  divest  ourselves  of  the  common  antipathy  to  it,  and  imagine  how  it  appeared  to 
the  eye  of  Eve.  Its  motions  are  easy  and  graceful,  and  in  beauty  and  brilliancy  of  coloring  some 
species  are  unsurpassed  by  any  other  animal.  Of  course  Eve  could  have  no  share  in  our  preju- 
dices against  it. 

The  speaking  of  the  serpent  was  the  effect  of  supernatural  influence.  Before  the  habits  of 
animals  had,  by  long  observation,  come  to  be  regarded  as  immutable  laws  of  nature,  a  devia- 
tion from  them  could  excite  no  such  surprise  as  at  present.  See  further  remarks  at  the  end  of 
the  chapter. 

Js  it  even  so  ;  implying  the  unreasonableness  of  the  prohibition. 

Ye  shall  net  eat  of  any  tree  of  the  garden,  is  an  exaggeration  of  the  divine  prohibition,  which 
well  accords  with  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  tempter. 

The  tempter  first  aims  to  weaken  the  bond  of  childlike  confidence  and  trust,  which  binds  man 
to  his  Maker;  infusing  in  its  place  a  spirit  of  unbelief  and  distrust.  The  sure  basis  of  simple 
trust  in  God,  as  the  all-loving  and  the  all-wise,  once  shaken,  there  is  little  left  to  be  done. 

VV.  2,  3.  The  woman  corrects,  in  the  second  verse,  the  tempter's  misstatement  of  the  divine 
prohibition.  But,  in  the  third  verse,  she  unneces-arily  repeats  the  prohibition,  and  with  an 
addition  ('ye  shall  not  touch  it")  which  is  noteworthy;  indicating,  perhaps,  by  this  exaggera- 
tion of  the  command,  that  there  was  already  awakened  a  feeling  of  impatience  under  the  restraint 
imposed. 

Observe  that  the  tree,  the  fruit  of  which  they  were  forbidden  to  eat,  is  here  called  "  the  tree 

*  That  man  must  have  been  tempted  into  sin  by  an  influence  from  without,  not  originating  in 
himself,  is  very  clearly  and  forcibly  shown  by  Auberlen  (Gottliche  Offenbarung ,  p.  153)  : 

"  Though  the  sin  of  humanity  rests  on  a  free  act  of  Adam,  yet  it  can  not  have  in  this  it?  ulti- 
mate ground.  Everything  that  exists,  and  especially  that  which  has  personality,  is  attached 
by  an  intimate  bond  to  its  original.  So  must  also  the  first  human  pair  have  been  bound  to  God, 
by  a  native  trait  of  the  deepest  piety.  They  had,  as  Melancthon,  in  his  defense  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession,  so  beautifully  says,  a  pate,  good,  joyous  heart  toward  Cod  and  all  divine  things; 
they  lived  in  and  from  God,  as  the  child  lives  in  and  from  the  mother.  If  now  the  thought  of 
breaking  loose  from  God,  of  spiritual  parricide,  had  risen  in  their  souls,  then  would  they  in  their 
own  inmost  self  have  set  themselves  in  opposition  to  God  ;  evil  would  have  been  a  thing  not 
foreign  to  the  nature  of  man,  but  man  would  have  been  the  evil  one  himself,— he  would  have 
satanized  himself.  But  then,  too,  it  would  be  impossible  to  remove  evil  from  the  nature  of  man  ; 
humanity  would  no  longer  be  capable  of  redemption.  Inasmuch,  therefore,  as  man  is  not  a 
devil,  t  follows  that  there  must  be  a  devil.  Evil  in  its  human  form,  if  it  does  not  constitute  the 
substance  of  the  creaturely  personality,  and  still  leaves  room  for  redemption,  can  be  explained 
only  through  temptation." 

15 


Chap.  m.  GENESIS. 


tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,   G-od  has  said  : 

Ye  shall  not  eat  of  it,  and  ye  shall  not  touch  it,  lest  ye  die. 
4  And  the  serpent  said  to  the  woman  :  Ye  shall  not  surely 
6  die.     For  God  knows,  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof  your 

eyes  will  be  opened,  and  ye  will  be  as  God,  knowing  good 

and  evil. 

6  And  the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and 
that  it  was  a  delight  to  the  eyes,  and  that  the  tree  was  to  be 
desired  to  make  one  wise  ;  and  she  took  of  its  fruit  and  ate, 

7  and-  gave  also  to  her  husband  with  her,  and  he  ate.  And 
the  e}^es  of  both  of  them  were  opened,  and  they  knew  that 


•which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden ;"  and  this  may  have  been  the  only  mode  of  designating  it 
before  the  fall. 

In  the  language  of  the  tempter  (vv.  1  and  5),  and  of  the  woman  in  reply  to  him  (v.  3),  the 
name  of  the  Divine  Being  is  simply  God.  This  is  significant;  the  name  used  by  the  narrator 
himself,  in  this  section,  being  invariably  JfinovAii  God. 

W.  4,  5.  Mark  the  confident  tone  of  the  tempter  ;  an  indication  to  us  of  what  was  passing  in 
the  mind  of  the  woman,  under  his  influence.  For  so  the  narrative  is  to  be  interpreted.  Com- 
pare the  different  result  in  the  case  of  the  Savior  (Matt.  5  :  3-10)  when  subjected  to  the  like 
subtle  influence. 

The  tempter  here  aims  to  infuse  into  the  mind  of  the  woman,  first  a  doubt  of  the  truth  and  cer- 
tainty of  the  divine  threatening  (-'ye  shall  not  surely  die")  ;  and  secondly  a  suspicion,  that 
God  was  withholding  from  them  a  good,  instead  of  guarding  them  against  an  evil  ("God 
knows,"  etc.). 

Your  eyes  ivill  be  opened,  expresses  the  power  of  mentally  apprehending  things  before  unper- 
ceived  and  unknown  ;  here,  of  course,  both  in  an  intellectual  and  moral  sense. 

Will  be  as  God  ;  in  what  respect,  is  stated  in  the  following  clause,  "  knowing  good  and  evil ;" 
knowing' for  yourselves,  and  able  to  choose  between  the  evil  and  the  good. 

By  these  words,  the  tempter  would  awaken  the  feeling  of  self-exaltation,  the  longing  for  a 
higher  development,  in  which  they  should  attain  to  self-direction,  and  freedom  of  choice  and 
action.  i 

V.  6.  In  temptation,  it  is  dangerous  to  deliberate.  Half  the  tempter's  work  is  done  when  he 
has  gained  a  hearing.  As  she  gazed  on  the  tree,  still  unresolved,  the  forbidden  object  began  to 
have  charms  never  seen  before. 

The  temptation  is  represented  as  addressing  itself  to  the  lower  and  sensual  elements  of  man's 
nature  ("  the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and  a  delight  to  the  eyes"),  as  well  as  to  its  higher  aspi- 
rations ("  was  to  be  des.red  to  make  one  wise").  And  not  without  reason.  For  the  result  shows, 
that  in  the  use  and  control  of  all  his  natural  powers  man  became  estranged  from  God  (v.  22); 
that  he  was  no  longer  in  conscious  and  happy  communion  with  him  (vv.  7-10),  as  the  source  of 
his  spiritual  life  and  action,  and  his  acknowledged  and  trusted  sovereign. 

To  make  one  icise ;  in  the  sense  insinuated  by  the  tempter;  for  progress  in  real  knowledge 
and  wisdom  was  not  interdicted  by  the  divine  prohibition. 

The  process  of  temptation  was,  therefore,  a  successful  deception.  Compare  the  apostle'3 
statement  of  the  case,  2  Cor.  11  :  3,  "  as  the  serpent  beguiled  Eve  by  his  subllety,"  and  of  the 
ordinary  process  of  sin,  Rom.  7  :  11,  "  deceived  mc."  But  the  artifice  was  successful,  only 
through  the  influence  of  unbelief  and  distrust  of  the  divine  word.  Man  disbelieved  and  dis- 
trusted God,  and  believed  and  trusted  the  deceiver,  and  was  thus  beguiled  into  sin.  Faith  in 
God  would  have  been  a  sure  defense  against  all  the  tempter's  wiles. 

V.  7.  Effects  of  the  transgrer-sion.  Compare  the  apostle's  brief  and  pointed  summary  (.lames 
1  :  15):  "  Lust,  having  conceived,  brings  forth  sin  ;  and  sin,  when  completed,  brings  forth  death." 

Their  eyes  mere  opened,  means  (as  in  v.  5),  that  they  now  perceived  what  they  were  not  con- 
scious of  before. 

They  knew  thai  they  were  naked.    In  place  of  conscious  innocence  and  purity  (ch.  2  :  25), 

16 


GENESIS.  Chap.  m. 


they  were  naked.  ~  And  they  sewed  fig-leaves  together,  and 
made  themselves  aprons. 

8  And  they  heard  the  voice  of  Jehovah  God  walking  in  the 
garden,  at  the  breeze  of  the  day.  And  the  man  and  his 
wife  hid  themselves  from  the  presence  of  Jehovah  God,  in 
the  midst  of  the  trees  of  the  garden. 

9  And  Jehovah  God  called  to  the  man,  and  said  to  him  : 

10  Where  art  thou  ?  And  he  said :  I  heard  thy  voice  in  the 
garden,  and  was  afraid,  because  I  was  naked,  and  hid 
myself. 

11  And  he  said  :  Who  has  showed  thee  that  thou  art  naked  ? 
Hast  thou  eaten  of  the  tree,  of  which  I  commanded  thee  not 
to  eat? 

12  And  the  man  said  :  The  woman  whom  thou  gavest  to  be 
with  me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I  ate. 

V.  8.     The  voice  ;  or,  the  sound 

came  the  sense  of  guilt  and  shame.  We  are  not  to  understand  that  there  is  allusion  here  to 
any  physical  effect  of  the  eating  of  the  forbidden  fruit.  So  gross  a  conception  is  foreign  to  the 
spirit  and  purpo>e  of  the  narrative.  As  the  language  in  ch.  2  :  2.5  is  an  expression  of  purity  and 
peace  of  mind,  so  the  language  used  here  is  the  expression  of  conscious  guilt,  of  self-condemna- 
tion and  shame.  What  is  said  in  the  remainder  of  the  verse  is  a  continuation  of  this  figurative 
expression  of  the  thought. 

We  are  not  to  suppose,  moreover,  that  the  fruit  itself  had  any  effect.  It  was  the  transgression 
of  the  divine  command  that  wrought  the  change.  As  obedience  was  the  conscious  recognition 
of  the  divine  authority,  and  the  condition  of  continued  connection  with  the  source  of  spiritual 
life  and  peace,  so  their  disobedience  was  the  conscious  rejection  of  that  authority,  and  for- 
feiture of  spiritual  life  and  enjoyment.  Man's  natural  reason,  with  his  appetites  and  passions, 
was  now  in  the  ascendant;  no  longer  under  the  control  and  direction  of  that  spiritual  element 
of  his  nature,  in  which  he  bore  the  image  of  God,  and  lived  in  happy  communion  with  him. 
Hence  his  dread  of  God,  and  conscious  guilt  and  shame. 

V.  8.  All  the  circumstances  of  the  narrative  point  to  the  intimate  converse  with  the  revealed 
Divinity,  to  which  man  in  his  primeval  innocence  was  admitted.  Nor  should  this  seem  strange 
to  us.  For  what  relation  can  be  more  intimate  and  endearing  than  that  of  the  Creator  to  the 
being  created  by  him?  In  what,  beyond  himself,  could  he  take  more  delight,  than  in  the  being 
created  by  himself,  and  in  his  own  image  ?  What  this  intercourse  had  been,  is  represented  under 
a  form  the  most  easily  apprehended  by  us. 

Voice,  is  probably  the  correct  rendering  here  (compare,  thy  voice,  in  v.  10);  though  the  mar- 
ginal rendering  sound  (namely,  of  footsteps,  etc.),  would  be  admissible,  as  in  2  Samuel  5  :  24 ; 
1  Kings  14  :6;  2  Kings  G  :  ?,2. 

At  the  breeze  of  the  day  ;  toward  evening,  after  the  midday  heat,  when  the  cool  breeze  is  ac- 
customed to  spring  up.* 

On  vv.  8-10,  compare  the  remarks  on  v.  7. 

V.  11.  U7to  has  showed  thee  that  thou  art  naked  ?  How  hast  thou  become  conscious  of  this  ? 
Whence  is  this  sense  of  guilt  and  shame?  Hast  thou  eaten,  etc.  These  questions  recall  the 
man  from  the  cons  quences  of  his  offense  to  the  guilty  act  itself. 

V.  12  is  sometimes  falsely  interpreted,  as  an  unworthy  attempt  of  the  man  to  cast  the  blame 

*  The  same  idea  is  expressed,  in  another  form,  in  Cant.  2  :  17,  and  4  :  G ;  properly,  till  the  day 
thaU  breeze. 

B  IT 


Chap.  m.  GENESIS. 


13  And  Jehovah  God  said  to  the  woman  :  What  is  this  that 
thou  hast  done  ?  And  the  woman  said  :  The  serpent  be- 
guiled me,  and  I  ate. 

u  And  Jehovah  God  said  to  the  serpent :  Because  thou  hast 
done  this,  cursed  art  thou  above  all  cattle,  and  above  every 
beast  of  the  field ;  on  thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt 

15  thou  eat  all  the  days  of  thy  life.  And  I  will  put  enmity 
between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and 
her  seed  ;  he  shall  bruise  thee  on  the  head,  and  thou  shalt 
bruise  him  on  the  heel. 

1S  To  the  woman  he  said  :  I  will  greatly  multiply  the  pains 
of  thy  pregnancy ;  in  pain  shalt  thou  bring  forth  children  ; 
and  unto  thy  husband  shall  be  thy  desire,  and  he  shall  rule 
over  thee. 


V.  14.     Or,  of  all  cattle,  and  of  every  beast 


of  his  offense  on  tlie  woman.  But  the  emphasis  lies  on  the  words,  whom  thou  gavest  to  be  with 
me  ;  and  he  seeks  to  transfer  the  responsibility  from  himself  to  God,  who  gave  him  the  compan- 
ion by  whose  example  he  was  betrayed  into  sin. 

V.  13.  What  is  this  thai  thou  hast  done?  The  inquiry  is  an  expression  of  surprise  and  dis- 
pleasure, and  of  the  fearful  nature  of  the  act  and  its  consequences.  It  can  not  be  denied,  that 
her  part  in  the  transgression  is  regarded  with  special  displeasure.  Compare  the  severity  of  the 
punishment  (v.  16),  and  the  words  of  the  apostle,  in  1  Tim.  2  :  14. 

V.  14.  Above  all  cattle,  etc.,  does  not  necessarily  imply,  as  some  have  assumed,  that  other 
animals  are  accursed,  though  in  a  less  degree.  Even  if  this  were  true,  the  expression  would  be 
just,  since  the  evil  implied  extends  to  all.  Compare  v.  17,  and  Rom.  8  :  20.  Of  all  cattle,  etc. 
(margin),  refers  to  the  instinctive  dread  and  aversion  with  which  all  animals  regard  the  serpent. 

On  thy  belly  shall  thou  go.  We  are  not  to  infer  from  this  that  the  serpent  originally  had  a  form 
different  from  its  present  one.  The  words,  in  their  literal  application  to  the  serpent,  imply  that 
its  natural  structure  and  habits  were  made  a  perpetual  memorial  of  the  curse  affixed  to  it.  But 
in  their  real  intent,  they  are  a  figurative  expression  of  the  humiliation  of  the  tempter  himself.* 

V.  15.  On  the  same  principle,  the  subsequent  relation  between  the  evil  spirit  and  man  is 
aptly  expressed  by  the  enmity  between  the  seed  of  the  serpent  and  that  of  the  woman,  and  by 
the  nature  of  the  injuries  mutually  inflicted.  In  this  conflict,  man  is  to  have  the  ascendency. 
As  this  is  true  in  the  literal  application  of  the  words,  so  it  is  also  in  the  higher  one  ;  for  while 
the  enemy  of  man  shall  inflict  only  partial  injuries,  he  shall  himself  be  finally  subdued  and 
crushed.     Compare  the  apostle's  evident  allusion  to  this  passage,  in  Rom.  16  :  20. 

If  we  admit  that  in  the  transaction  narrated  in  this  chapter  there  is  anything  worthy  of  the 
divine  and  human  parties  to  it,  we  must  recognize  here  something  more  than  the  instinctive  en- 
mity between  man  and  the  serpent  kind.  It  is  evident  that,  along  with  this,  there  is  still 
another  and  higher  application  of  the  words,  which  has  gained  for  this  verse  the  title  of  the 
JProlevangelium,  or  the  First  Gospel. 

It  is  certainly  significant,  that  this  is  promised  to  the  seed  of  the  woman.  She  who  had  been 
foiled,  in  the  first  encounter  with  the  wily  enemy  of  the  race,  should  triumph  over  and  subdue 
him  in  her  offspring.     A  gracious  offset  to  the  sentence  of  condemnation  in  the  next  verse  ! 

V.  16.  Unto  thy  husband  shall  be  thy  desire  ;  an  expression  of  subordination  and  dependence. 
He  shall  rule  over  thee  expresses,  not  indeed  what  should  be,  but  what  would  so  generally  be  tha 

*  This  is  true  also  of  the  expression,  dust  shalt  thou  eat ;  a  reputed  habit  of  the  serpent,  tho 
ground  of  which  is  seen  in  Micah.  7  :  17,  and  which  is  here  referred  to  as  a  part  of  its  humilia- 
tion.   A  similar  reference,  with  evident  allusion  to  this  passage,  occurs  in  Isaiah  65  :  25. 

18 


GENESIS.  Chap.  m. 


17  And  to  the  man  he  said  :  Because  thou  didst  hearken  to 
the  voice  of  thy  wife,  and  didst  eat  of  the  tree,  of  which  I 
commanded  thee,  saying,  Thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it ;  cursed  is 
the  ground  for  thy  sake.     In  sorrow  shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all 

ls  the  days  of  thy  life.  And  thorns  and  thistles  shall  it  cause 
to  spring  up  to  thee  ;  and  thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the 

19  field.  By  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,  till 
thou  return  to  the  ground  ;  for  out  of  it  wast  thou  taken  ; 
for  dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return. 

20  And  the  man  called  the  name  of  his  wife  Eve  ;  because 
she  was  the  mother  of  all  living. 

21  And  Jehovah  God  made  for  the  man,  and  for  his  wife, 
garments  of  skin,  and  clothed  them. 

22  And  Jehovah  God  said  :  Behold,  the  man  has  become  as 
one  of  us,  to  know  good  and  evil.     And  now,  lest  he  stretch 

effect  of  the  apostasy  on  woman's  relations  in  the  married  state.  The  stronger  party  in  this  re- 
lation, instead  of  being  the  natural  guardian  and  protector  of  the  weaker,  would  use  his  superior 
power  to  oppress  and  debase  her.  Such  has  always  been  the  case,  except  so  far  as  the  influence 
of  revelation  has  counteracted  the  evils  of  the  fall. 

W.  17-19.  There  is  a  formal  statement  of  the  grounds  of  man's  condemnation,  for  which  there 
Beems  to  have  been  no  occasion  in  the  case  of  the  woman.  In  man's  justification  of  himself 
(v.  12),  it  is  implied  that  God  was  the  occasion  of  the  offense,  in  giving  man  for  a  companion 
one  who  had  led  him  into  sin.  Observe  the  felicitous  form  of  the  refutation  of  this  plea :  la 
obeying  the  voice  of  the  wife  given  thee,  thou  hast  disobeyed  the  voice  of  God  who  gave  her. 

Cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake ;  as  a  mark  of  the  divine  displeasure  against  sin.  For  the  mean- 
ing of  the  expression,  compare  ch.  27  :  27,  "  as  the  smell  of  a  field  which  Jehovah  has  blest;" 
on  which  his  favor  rests,  making  it  fruitful,  and  fragrant  with  abundant  increase.  The  curse 
consisted  in  rendering  the  ground  unfruitful,  or  productive  of  useless  and  hurtful  plants,  adding 
to  the  labors  of  the  husbandman.  This  blight  of  sin,  on  all  the  objects  of  nature,  is  referred  to 
in  Rom.  8  :  19-22. 

Herb  of 'the field;  of  the  open  field,  wild  and  unsubdued,  and  requiring  painful  toil  to  fit  it  for 
use,  and  make  it  productive. 

V.  19.  Brief  and  impressive  summary  of  human  life !  The  literature  of  the  world  will  be 
searched  in  vain  for  a  parallel  to  this  truthful  and  affecting  statement. 

By  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,  describes  the  condition  of  the  race,  and  is  true 
of  all  the  race,  as  such.    No  man  eats  bread,  but  by  the  sweat  of  some  man's  face. 

For  out  of  it.  This  and  the  following  clause  may  be  taken  together,  as  co-ordinate  reasons 
for  the  statement,  "  till  thou  return  to  the  ground  ;"  or  the  second  may  be  regarded  as  confirma- 
tive of  the  first,  with  the  natural  sequence,  "  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return." 

V.  20.    Eve;  that  is,  Life. 

V.  21  expresses  God's  providential  care  for  every  human  want.  Sin  has  made  the  covering  of 
the  person  necessary,  and  it  is  God's  requirement.  The  first  clothing  of  man  is  ascribed  to  him, 
on  the  principle,  that  what  he  requires  and  causes  to  be  done,  and  gives  the  means  and  capacity 
to  do,  is  his  work. 

V.  22.  As  one  of  us,  to  know  good  and  evil ;  as  one  of  us,  in  this  respect,  to  know  (for  him- 
self) good  and  evil,  to  decide  for  himself  what  is  good  and  what  is  evil,  without  regard  to  the 
divine  will.  Thus  his  own  will  had  become  his  supreme  law,  in  place  of  the  will  of  God  ;  and 
thus  he  had  become  as  God  to  himself. 

Lest  he  .  .  .  take  also  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  eat,  and  live  forever.  It  is  not  meant,  that 
by  once  partaking  of  this  fruit,  he  would  be  forever  secured  against  death.    Nor  is  it  implied 

19 


Chap.  in.  GENESIS. 


forth  his  hand,  and  take  also  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  eat,  and 

23  live  forever  ;  therefore  Jehovah  God  sent  him  forth  from 
the  garden  of  Eden,  to  till  the  ground  from  whence  he  was 

24  taken.     And  he  drove  out  the  man  ;  and  he  stationed  on 
the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden  the  cherubim,  and  the  flam- 


that  he  had  never  yet  partaken  of  it;  for  of  this  he  might  "  freely  eat"  (ch.  2  :  16)  so  long  as 
he  continued  obedient.  But  now,  he  is  to  be  debarred  from  access  to  the  tree  of  life ;  and  thus 
the  divine  threatening,  "in  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die,"  was  virtually 
fulfilled  to  the  letter. 

V.  23.  The  sentence  commencing  with  the  quoted  words  of  the  Divine  Being,  in  the  preced- 
ing verse,  is  left  unfinished ;  the  writer  passing  abruptly  from  the  dramatic  to  the  narrative  form. 
Such  transition  is  not  necessarily  a  blemish  iu  composition,  but  is  often  one  of  its  highest  excel- 
lences. 

V.  24.  On  tiie  east  of  the  garden ;  indicating  that  the  first  direction  of  the  race  was  eastward 
from  Eden. 

The  cherubim  and  the  flaming  siuord.  The  use  of  the  definite  article,  in  both  cases,  shows  that 
these  terms  expressed  well-known  and  familiar  objects,  or  conceptions. 

The  chembim  were  ideal  forms,  often  occurring  in  the  religious  symbolism  of  the  Hebrews. 
Here,  in  connection  with  the  flaming  sword,  they  represent  the  majesty  and  authority  of 
Jehovah,  in  some  visible  manifestation,  as  in  the  terrors  of  the  lightning-cloud.  Compare  the 
poetical  description  of  Jehovah,  appearing  in  his  majesty  and  power,  in  Psalm  18  :  9-14,  and 
2  Samuel  22  :  11-15. 

The  conception  of  their  form  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  the  description  in  Ezekiel,  ch.  1  and 
ch.  10,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  visions  of  that  prophet,  as  is  also  the  description  in  ch.  41 :  18, 19. 
Compare  the  quite  different  conception  of  the  form  in  Ex.  25  :  20,  37  :  9,  and  in  1  Kings  6  :  24. 

To  keep  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life  ;  denoting  that  there  was  no  return  to  that  state  of  immor- 
tality. 

The  penalty  of  the  transgression  (ch.  2  :  17)  was,  therefore,  spiritual  death  (see  the  remarks 
on  v.  7),  and  physical  death  as  its  immediate  consequence;  for  "in  the  day"  of  his  trans- 
gression, man  was  cut  off  from  the  source  of  life,  and  became  a  prey  to  death.  Compare  the 
use  of  the  term  death  in  such  passages  as  Deut.  30  :  15,  19 ;  Rom.  8  :  6  ;  7  :  9,  10,  13  ;  Eph.  2:1,5. 


The  profound  truth  of  the  representation  in  this  chapter  is  admitted,  even  by  those  who  do 
not  accept  the  scriptural  interpretation  of  it. 

The  Scriptures  themselves  are  the  only  sure  guide  to  the  right  interpretation.  The  passages 
bearing  directly  on  this  point,  are  the  following:  Eccl.  7  :  29,  God  made  man  upright.  Rom.  5  : 
12,  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin ;  v.  14,  death  reigned  from  Adam  to 
Moses,  even  over  those  who  sinned  not  after  the  likeness  of  Adam's  transgression ;  v.  15 ,  fry  the 
frespass  of  the  one  the  ma?iy  died ;  v.  1G,  the  judgment  came  of  one  unto  condemnation  ;  v.  17, 
by  the  trespass  of  the  one  death  reigned  through  the  one ;  v.  18,  through  one  trespass  it  came 
upon  all  men  unto  condemnation  ;  v.  19,  through  the  disobedience  of  the  one  man  the  many  icere 
constituted  sinners.  1  Cor.  15  :  22,  As  in  Adam  all  die.  1  Tim.  2  :  14,  Adam  was  -not  deceived; 
but  the  woman,  being  deceived,  has  fallen  into  transgression.  1  Tim.  2  :  13,  For  Adam  ivas  first 
formed,  then  Eve.  1  Cor.  11 :  8,  For  the  man  is  not  of  the  woman,  but  the  woman  of  the  man. 
Of  the  tempter  it  is  said  :  2  Cor.  11  :  3,  As  the  serpent  beguiled  Eoe  by  his  subtlety.  John  8  :  44, 
He  (the  Devil)  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning  ;  .  .  .  when  he  speaks  a  lie,  lie  speaks  of 
his  own  ;  for  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  fattier  of  it.  Rev.  12  :  9  (and  20  :  2) ,  And  the  great  dragon  was 
cast  down,  the  old  serpent,  called  the  Devil  and  Satan. 

It  is  evident  from  these  statements  (after  making  due  allowance,  in  some  instances,  for  a  pos- 
sible adoption  of  the  mere  imagery  of  the  original  passage),  that  there  is  recorded  here  a  real 
transaction  ;  that  there  was  in  reality  an  original  state  of  innocence  and  happiness,  free  from 
the  moral  and  physical  evils  that  now  afflict  the  race  ;  that  man,  yielding  to  the  suggestions  of 
an  evil  spirit,  apostatized  from  God,  and  forfeited  the  divine  favor  and  his  original  state  of  inno- 
cence and  happiness,  and  involved  his  whole  posterity  in  guilt  and  ruin. 

These  are  all  the  limitations,  so  far  as  I  can  recall  them,  which  the  Scriptures  set  to  our  inter- 

20 


GENESIS.  Chap.  m. 


ing  sword,  which  turned  every  way,  to  keep  the  way  to  the 
tree  of  life. 


pretatioa  of  the  passage.    Keeping  to  these  plain  scriptural  views,  and  following  their  guidance, 
we  may  safely  apply  to  it  the  common  principles  of  interpretation. 

The  object  of  the  preceding  notes  is  simply  to  explain  the  sacred  writer's  language,  following 
the  form  of  conception  in  which  he  clothed  his  ideas.  On  some  ppints,  the  following  suggestions 
may  aid  the  further  reflections  of  the  reader. 

In  regard  to  the  tempter's  mode  of  communicating  with  Eve,  it  matters  not  whether  we  sap- 
pose  the  serpent  to  have  appeared  visibly,  and  in  actual  bodily  form,  to  the  eye  of  Eve,  address- 
ing her  iii  audible  words,  or  that  the  communication  was  purely  mental,  the  tempter  appearing 
in  this  form  to  the  mind  of  Eve. 

Some  have  supposed  that  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil -was  so  called,  berause  by 
eating  of  its  fruit  man  came  to  know  the  difference  between  good  and  evil,  that  is,  happiness 
and  misery.  To  say  nothing  of  the  moral  insignificance  of  the  transaction,  on  such  a  supposi- 
tion, it  compels  us  to  regard  the  words  of  the  Divine  Being,  in  v.  22,  as  "  solemn  irony,"  in  allu- 
sion to  the  tempter's  treacherous  insinuation  in  v.  5.  The  imputation  of  such  a  sentiment  to  the 
Divine  Being  is  too  offensive  and  revolting  to  be  entertained.  The  words  are  evidently  a  serious 
and  earnest  statement  of  a  fact,  the  great  fact  in  human  history,  on  which  the  destiny  of  the  race 
has  turned;  very  far  indeed  from  an  ironical  allusion  to  the  base  and  treacherous  artifice  of  the 
malignant  deceiver. 

Others  suppose  that  the  tree  was  so  called,  because  by  it  man  wa3  to  attain  to  the  knowledge 
(or  recognition)  of  moral  good  and  moral  evil.  But  how  could  the  wise  and  gracious  Creator  have 
intended  to  interdict  this  knowledge  to  his  intelligent  and  moral  creature,  made  in  his  own  im- 
age, and  thereby  'frustrate  his  own  purpose  in  creating  him?  To  this  they  answer,  that  accord- 
ing to  the  divine  will,  man  was  to  obtain  this  knowledge  by  obedience,  namely,  by  no!,  eating  of 
the  forbidden  fruit;  and  that  the  statement  in  v.  22  means,  that  man  has  indeed  attained  to  this 
knowledge  (as  was  intended),  but  not  in  the  normal  way.  If  so,  then  the  statement  omits  the 
esseut  al  point;  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  view  seems  rather  to  be  interpreted  into  the 
passage,  than  out  of  it. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  man  would  have  attained  to  the  highest  perfection  of  his  nature 
by  obeying  the  divine  command ;  and  that  he  could  attain  to  it  only  by  thus  recognizing  the 
divine  will  as  his  supreme  law,  and  acting  in  conscious  obedience  to  it.  In  this  we  see  the 
gracious  purpose  of  the  Creator,  in  appointing  the  test.     Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  2  :  17. 

Tfie  tree  of  life,  if  a  literal  tree  is  intended,  was  the  visible  medium  through  which  a  divine 
life-imparting  power  was  communicated,  and  a  token  to  man  of  his  continued  enjoyment  of  it, 
so  long  as  he  was  obedient.  Man,  in  his  material  nature,  was  of  the  earth,  and  tended  back  to 
earth;  and  the  withholding  of  this  divine  influence  was  all  that  was  necessary  to  enforce  the 
divine  decree,  "  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return." 

But  neither  tree  is  spoken  of  elsewhere,  as  being  literally  a  part  of  the  reality  in  this  transac- 
tion; and  both  may  have  been  used  as  symbols  of  the  great  moral  truths,  that  by  disobedience 
man  apostatized  from  God,  and  thereby  forfeited  the  divine  favor,  and  with  it  his  spiritual  life 
and  his  exemption  from  physical  death. 

The  reality  of  the  transaction,  as  viewed  by  our  Lord  and  his  apostles,  is  not  affected  by  inter- 
preting' the  whole  passage  as  an  embodiment  of  great  moral  truths  in  sensible  imagery  ;  in  order 
to  make  them  more  readily  intelligible  to  all  degrees  of  intellectual  cultwe,  and  to  give  them  a 
stronger  hold  upon  the  mind.  That  this  end  is  attained,  every  day's  experience  proves;  for 
the  child  readily  comprehends  the  lessons  here  taught,  while  they  are  more  impressively  con- 
veyed, even  to  minds  of  the  highest  culiure,  than  by  any  abstract  form  of  conception  and 
statement. 

Are  we  to  understand  that  the  change  in  man's  spiritual  nature  and  relations  was  followed 
by  a  change  in  physical  nature,  and  in  the  physical  organization  and  habits  of  animals  that  prey 
on  man  and  on  one  another? 

Perhaps  so.  But  not  necessarily,  unless  we  assume  that  the  allwise  God  was  taken  by  sur- 
prise ;  that  He  who  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning  did  not  foresee  the  result  of  man's  trial, 
and  provide  for  it.  The  world  which  God  prepared  for  man,  and  into  which  he  was  driven  forth 
after  his  offense,  was  such  as  befits  his  state  of  alienation  from  God ;  such  as  God  pronounced 
it  to  be,  when  he  said,  "  Cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake."  Were  it  not  for  sin,  it  would  do 
very  wtll  as  jt  is. 

2L 


Chap.  rv\  GENESIS. 


1  And  the  man  knew  Eve  his  wife;  and  she  conceived, 
and  bore  Cain  ;  and  she  said :  I  have  gotten  a  man,  with 
Jehovah. 

2  And  again  she  bore  his  brother,  Abel.  And  Abel  was  a 
keeper  of  flocks  ;  'arid  Cain  was  a  tiller  of  the  ground. 

3  And  it  came  to  pass,  after  a  time,  that  Cain  brought  of 

4  the  fruit  of  the  ground  an  offering  to  Jehovah.  And  Abel, 
he  also  brought  of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock,  and  of  their  fat. 

6  And  Jehovah  regarded  Abel  and  his  offering ;  but  Cain,  and 
his  offering,  he  did  not  regard.  And  Cain  was  angry  ex- 
ceedingly, and  his  countenance  fell. 

6  And  Jehovah  said  to  Cain  :  Why  art  thou  angry  ?     And 

7  why  is  thy  countenance  fallen?  Is  there  not,  if  thou  do- 
est  well,  a  lifting  up  ?  And  if  thou  doest  not  well,  sin  is 
crouching  at  the  door  ;  and  toward  thee  is  his  desire  ;  and 
do  thou  rule  over  him. 


V.  7.     Or,  and  thou  shouldst  rule 


Ch.  4.  First  part  of  the  second  division :  Offspring  of  the  first  human  pair;  account  of  Cain 
and  Abel,  and  of  Cain's  posterity. 

In  this  section,  the  name  of  the  Divine  Being  is  Jehovah. 

V.  1.  I  have  gotten  a  man,  with  Jehovah ;  her  grateful  acknowledgment  of  Jehovah's  aid, 
in  this  her  first  experience  of  the  special  penalty  of  the  transgression.     Cain;  that  is,  Gotten. 

With  Jehovah;  either  with  his  help,  as  the  expression  is  now  generally  understood;  or  (as 
some  suppose)  conjoined  with  him,  one  associated  with  him,  which  is  less  probable. 

V.  2.  Flocks  ;  embracing  the  smaller  domestic  animals,  sheep  and  goats,  in  distinction  from 
the  larger  classes,  namely,  oxen,  horses,  etc.  The  rendering  of  the  common  English  version, 
sheep,  is  inaccurate. 

V.  3.  After  a  time ;  literally,  from  (that  is,  after)  the  end  of  days,  which  corresponds  to  our 
indefinite  phrase,  "  after  a  time." 

V.  4.  And  of  their  fat;  to  be  burned  on  the  altar,  as  afterward  directed  in  Num.  18  :  17. 
The  meaning  is  not,  of  their  fatlings,  as  supposed  by  some.  The  fat  of  more  than  one  i3  meant, 
as  in  Leviticus  9  :  19,  and  hence  the  use  of  the  plural  in  the  Hebrew. 

But  Cain,  and  his  offering,  he  did  not  regard.  The  ground  of  the  distinction  seems  to  have 
been,  that  Abel's  sacrifice  recognized  the  principle  of  human  guilt  and  its  expiation  (Heb.  9  :  22), 
which,  in  Cain's  thank-offering,  was  overlooked  and  disregarded;  and  this  is  in  harmony  with 
his  spirit  and  conduct,  as  shown  in  the  remainder  of  the  narrative. 

V.  7.  A  lifting  up;  namely,  of  the  countenance,  the  opposite  of  the  expression,  "his  coun- 
tenance fell,"  in  v.  5. 

Sin  is  crouching  at  the  door.  Sin  (the  evil  disposition  which  beset  him,  and  to  which  he  was 
yielding)  is  personified  as  a  lurking  beast  of  prey,  ready  to  spring  upon  its  victim  in  an  unguard- 
ed moment.     Against  this  insidious  enemy  Cain  is  warned,  and  commanded  to  "  rule  over  it."* 

*  It  is  beautifully  said  by  Herder,  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry,  eighth  dialogue  :  "  God  talks  with 
him  as  with  a  sullen  child  ;  unriddles  to  him  what  slumbers  in  his  heart,  and  like  a  beast  of  prey 
ia  lurking  at  the  door.  The  near  approach  of  sin  could  not  be  more  truly  or  more  fearfully 
pictured.  And  what  God  did  with  Cain,  that  he  does  with  every  one,  if  he  will  but  give  heed 
to  his  own  heart,  and  to  the  voice  of  God." 

22 


GENESIS.  Chap.  iv. 


8  And  Cain  told  it  to  Abel  his  brother.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  when  they  were  in  the  field,  that  Cain  rose  up  against 
Abel  his  brother,  and  slew  him. 

9  And  Jehovah  said  to  Cain  :  Where  is  thy  brother  ?  And 
he  said  :  I  know  not.     Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ? 

10  And  he  said  :   What  hast  thou  done  ?     The  voice  of  thy 

11  brother's  blood  cries  to  me  from  the  ground.  And  now, 
cursed  art  thou  from  the  ground,  which  opened  her  mouth 

12  to  receive  thy  brother's  blood  from  thy  hand.  When  thou 
tillest  the  ground,  it  shall  no  more  yield  to  thee  its  strength. 
A  fugitive  and  a  wanderer  shalt  thou  be  in  the  earth. 

13  And  Cain  said  to  Jehovah :  My  iniquity  is  greater  than 

14  can  be  borne.  Behold,  thou  hast  driven  me  out  this  day 
from. the  face  of  the  ground,  and  from  thy  face  must  I  hide 
myself;  and  I  shall  be  a  fugitive  and  a  wanderer  in  the 
earth  ;  and  it  will  come  to  pass,  that  every  one  who  finds 
me  will  slay  me. 

15  And  Jehovah  said  to  him :  Therefore,  whoever  slays  Cain, 

V.  11.     Or,  of  the  ground  V.  13.     0?-,  can  be  forgiven 

V.  8.     Told  it ;  in  what  spirit,  may  be  inferred  from  what  follows. 

V.  11.  Fi'om  the  ground  ;  in  the  sense  that  he  has  no  longer  a  resting-place  upon  it,  being 
henceforth  "a  fugitive  and  a  wanderer;"  or,  that  the  curse  proceeds  from  the  ground  (see 
margin),  which  "  bhall  no  more  yield  to  him  its  strength." 

V.  12.  Sliall  no  more  yield  to  thee  its  strength.  Such  was  the  region  to  which  the  first  homi- 
cide was  driven  forth,  a  fugitive  from  the  abodes  of  men,  and  finding  nowhere  a  resting-place. 

V.  13.  My  iniquity.  The  Hebrew  word  occurs  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  times,  and  in 
the  common  version  is  corrpctly  translated  iniquity,  in  all  except  thirteen  passages.  In  five  it 
is  translated  punishment ;  in  four,  punishment  of  iniquity  ;  twice  it  is  translated  fault,  once  sin, 
and  once  mischief.  But  there  is  no  ground  for  these  variations  from  the  ordinary  and  proper 
rendering. 

My  iniquity  is  greater  than  can  be  borne.  "  To  bear  iniquity"  means,  to  suffer  its  penalty;  as 
in  Lev.  19  :  8;  20  :  19.  Cain's  language  is  the  utterance  of  conscious  guilt  and  fear  ;  of  an  over- 
whelming sense  of  the  magnitude  of  his  crime,  and  of  the  punishment  it  deserved  and  would 
purely  meet.  It  is  not  the  language  of  penitence,  but  of  harrowing  remorse  aud  dread  of  future 
evil.  This  is  clear  from  what  follows.  The  words,  "Every  one  who  finds  me  will  slay  me," 
indicate  his  own  sense  of  the  desert  of  his  crime  against  God  and  man. 

The  Hebrew  may  also  be  rendered,  as  in  the  margin,  can  be  forgiven;  expressing  the  same 
despairing  sense  of  guilt  and  its  inevitable  punishment,  the  latter  being  the  predominant  thought, 
as  the  following  words  show. 

V.  15.  Shall  be  avenged.  So  the  Hebrew  verb  must  be  rendered  in  v.  24,  where  there  is  direct 
reference  to  the  statement  made  here. 

Sevenfold.  Jehovah  himself  was  dealing  with  Cain  for  his  crime  ;  and  it  was  necessary,  by  the 
threat  of  severe  punishment,  to  check  the  spirit  of  private  retaliation. 

Set  a  sign  for  Cain  ;  not,  "  set  a  mark  upon  Cain,"  as  in  the  common  English  version.  The 
sign,  whatever  it  may  have  been,  was  such  as  to  assure  Cain  of  his  safety,  and  to  warn  others 
against  doing  hiui  harm. 

23 


Chap.  if.  GENESIS. 


it  shall  be  avenged  sevenfold.     And  Jehovah  set  a  sign  for 
Cain,  that  no  one  finding  him  should  smite  him. 

16  And  Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  Jehovah,  and 
dwelt  in  the  land  of  Nod,  on  the  east  of  Eden. 

17  And  Cain  knew  his  wife  ;  and  she  conceived  and  bore 
Enoch.  And  he  was  building  a  city  ;  and  he  called  the 
city  after  the  name  of  his  son,  Enoch. 

18  And  to  Enoch  was  born  Irad.  And  Irad  begot  Mehujael ; 
and  Mehujael  begot  Methusael,  and  Methusael  begot  Lamech. 

19  And  Lamech  took  to  himself  two  wives.  The  name  of 
the    one    was   Adah ;    and    the    name    of  the    second   was 

20  Zillah.      And  Adah  bore  Jabal.      He  was  father  of  those 

21  who  dwell  in  tents  and  with  cattle.  And  his  brother's 
name  was  Jubal.      He   was  father  of  all  who  handle   the 

22  harp  and  the  flute.  And  Zillah,  she  also  bore  Tubal-Cain, 
a  maker  of  every  cutting  instrument  of  brass  and  iron. 
And  the  sister  of  Tubal-Cain  was  Naamah. 

23  And  Lamech  said  to  his  wives : 

Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  voice  ; 
Wives  of  Lamech,  give  ear  to  my  word. 
For  I  have  slain  a  man  for  my  wound, 
And  a  young  man  for  my  hurt. 

24  For  sevenfold  should  Cain  be  avenged ; 
And  Lamech  seventy  and  seven. 

V.  16.  Nod;  meaning,  Flight.  On  the  east  of  Eden,  indicates  the  continued  direction  of 
population  toward  the  interior  of  Asia. 

VV.  17-2-1.    Posterity  of  Cain. 

V.  17.  A  city.  In  its  primary  use  the  word  meant,  as  here,  the  entrenched  encampment  of  a 
migratory  family  or  tribe,  for  temporary  security  of  themselves  and  their  flocks  against  wild 
beasts  and  robbers.  So  it  is  used  in  Num.  Li  :  19,  where  .we  should  translate  :  "  and  what  are 
the  cities  they  dwell  in,  whether  in  camps,  or  in  strongholds."  The  statement  here  is  not  incon- 
sistent, therefore,  with  the  one  made  in  v.  12. 

V.  19.  The  first  recorded  instance  of  that  violation  of  the  marriage  institution,  which  has  been, 
so  desolating  in  its  effects  on  society  throughout  the  eastern  world.  Some  have  said  that  it  is 
here  mentioned  without  censure  ;  but  the  mere  mention  of  it,  in  connection  with  the  institution 
of  marriage  in  the  second  chapter,  is  condemnatory. 

V.  20.  Jabal  is  mentioned  as  father  of  the  nomadic  tribes  of  Asia ;  that  is,  as  the  one  who 
first  followed  their  mode  of  life. 

V.  21.     The  harp,  the  generic  name  of  stringed  instruments,  as  the^ute  is  of  wind  instruments. 

V.  22.  Cutting  instruments  of  brass  and  iron  ;  including  weapons  of  war,  with  the  invention 
•  of  which  the  incident  that  follows  is  connected. 

Naamah  (pleasing,  lovely,  an  appropriate  female  name)  is  here  mentioned  as  having  some 
important  connection  with  the  history,  and  very  probably  with  the  deed  commemorated  in  the 
two  following  verses. 

VV.  23,  2.4,  are  the  oldest  specimen  of  the  poetical  form  of  composition.     It  consists  here  of 

24 


GENESIS.  Chap.  v. 


25  And  Adam  knew  his  wife  again.  And  she  bore  a  son, 
and  called  his  name  Seth ;  For  God  has  appointed  me  an- 

26  other  seed  in  place  of  Abel.  For  Cain  slew  him.  And 
to  Seth,  to  him  also  was  born  a  son;  and  he  called  his 
name  Enos.  .  Then  began  men  to  call  on  the  name  of 
Jehovah. 

1  This  is  the  book  of  generations  of  Adam.     In  the  day 
'  that  God  created  man,  in  the  likeness  of  God  made  he  him ; 

2  a  male  and  a  female  created  he  them  ;  and  he  blessed  them, 
and  called  their  name  man,  in  the  day  when  they  were 
created. 

3  And  Adam  lived  a  hundred  and  thirty  years,  and  begot  a 
son  in  his  likeness,  after  his  image,  and  called  his  name  Seth. 

4  And  the  days  of  Adam,   after  he  begot  Seth,  were   eight 

5  hundred  years ;  and  he  begot  sons  and  daughters.     And  all 

V.  25.  Or,  because  Cain  slew  him 

the  parallelism  of  the  lines  in  form  and  sense,  the  assonance  and  final  rhyme,  and  the  use  of 
poetical  words  and  forms. 

These  lines  are  preserved  here  as  an  illustration  of  the  spirit  of  that  period  of  violence  and 
blood,  which  culminated  in  the  state  of  society  described  in  eh.  6:5,  and  11-13,  when  "the 
earth  was  filled  with  violence."  They  celebrate  the  prowess  of  an  ancient  hero,  who  boasts 
that  he  had  signally  avenged  his  wrong  upon  his  adversary,  and  that  the  vengeance  promised 
to  Cain  was  light,  compared  with  what  he  had  inflicted. 

W.  25,  2G.    Another  line  of  descent  from  Adam,  worshipers  of  the  true  God. 

With  the  account  of  Lamech  and  his  family,  beiug  the  seventh  generation  from  Adam  through 
Cain,  the  character  of  that  race  is  sufficiently  shown ;  and  the  narrative  now  turns  to  another 
line  of  descent  from  Adam,  the  pious  posterity  of  Seth. 

V.  25.    Seth;  meaning,  Appointed;  namely,  in  place  of  him  who  was  taken  away. 

For  Cain  slew  him;  the  explanatory  remark  of  the  narrator.  If  these  are  the  words  of  Eve, 
as  many  suppose,  they  should  be  translated  as  in  the  margin,  "  because  Cain  slew  him ;  that  is, 
for  the  reason,  that  Cain  slew  him.     The  former  meaning  seems  to  be  the  more  appropriate  one. 

V.  2G.  To  call  on  the  name  of  Jehovah,  means  to  utter  his  name,  in  prayer  fur  divine  aid,  or, 
in  a  more  general  sense,  in  solemn  acts  of  religious  worship,  as  in  ch.  12  :  8,  13  :  4,  21  :  33, 
26  :  25 ;  1  Chron.  16  :  8  ;  Psalms  79  :  6,  105  :  1, 11G  :  17  ;  Isaiah  12  :  4,  41  :  25,  04  :  7 ;  Zeph.  3  :  9. 

"  To  call  on  the  name  of  Jehovah,"  is  to  recognize  in  him  what  the  name  expresses,  the  Eter- 
nal, the  One  Eternal  God.  The  statement,  that  men  now  began  to  do  this,  shows  that  other 
and  idolatrous  worship  was  already  practiced,  and  that  the  true  God  now  began  to  be  known  and 
worshiped  by  this  name. 

There  had  now  commenced  that  line  of  descent  from  Adam,  in  which  God,  in  after-times,  spe- 
cially manifested  himself  by  the  covenant  name  Jehovah.  Hence  its  use  here  by  the  narrator ; 
while  in  the  quoted  language  of  Eve,  in  the  preceding  verse,  the  name  of  the  Divine  Being  is 
God,  and  not  Jehovah. 

Ch.  5.  Second  part  of  the  second  division :  Genealogy  from  Adam,  in  Uie  line  of  Seth,  to  Noah.^ 
In  this  section,  the  name  of  the  Divine  Being  is  God. 

V.  1.    Book  of  generations  ;  see  the  note  on  ch.  2  :  4,  second  paragraph. 

V.  3.    In  his  likeness,  after  his  image ;  in  a  spiritual  and  moral  sense,  as  well  as  physically. 

V.  5.  The  great  age  of  man  previous  to  the  Flood,  gradually  diminishing  for  some  generations 
after,  till  it  reached  its  present  usual  limit,  has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion.    Some  have 

25 


Chap.  v.  GENESIS. 


the  days  that  Adam   lived  were   nine  hundred  and  thirty 
years  ;  and  he  died. 

6  And  Seth  lived  a  hundred  and  five  years,  and  begot  Enos. 

7  And  Seth  lived,  after  he  begot  Enos,  eight  hundred  and  seven 

8  years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters.     And  all  the  days  of 
Seth  were  nine  hundred  and  twelve  years  ;  and  he  died. 

9  And     Enos    lived    ninety    years,     and     begot     Cainan. 

10  And  Enos  lived,  after  he  begot  Cainan,  eight  hundred  and 

11  fifteen  years,  and  begot*  sons  and  daughters.  And  all  the 
days  of  Enos  were  nine  hundred  and  five  years  ;  and  he 
died. 

12  And  Cainan  lived  seventy  years,   and  begot  Mahalaleel. 

13  And  Cainan  lived,  after  he  begot  Mahalaleel,  eight  hundred 

14  and  forty  years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters.  And  all 
the  clays  of  Cainan  were  nine  hundred  and  ten  years  ;  and 
he  died. 

15  And  Mahalaleel  lived  sixty-five  years,  and  begot  Jared. 

16  And  Mahalaleel  lived,  after  he  begot  Jared,  eight  hundred 

17  and  thirty  years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters.  And  all 
the  clays  of  Mahalaleel  were  eight  hundred  and  ninety-five 
years  ;  and  he  died. 

attempted  to  account  for  the  change  in  the  duration  of  human  life  by  physical  causes,  namely, 
changes  in  the  physical  temperament  of  our  world,  in  modes  of  living,  etc.  Others  have  main- 
tained, that  the  age  of  man  did  not  then  greatly  exceed  that  to  which  men  are  known  to  have 
attained  in  later  times;  some  supposing  that  each  name  represents  several  generations;  others, 
that  the  "year"  was  not  a  solar  year  as  subsequently,  but  some  equally  defined  period,  as  a 
lunar  month,  or  a  period  of  six  months  between  the  solstices  or  equinoxes,  or  a  season  of  three 
months  marked  by  the  passage  of  the  sun  between  the  equinoctial  and  solstitial  points,  or 
(according  to  the  ancient  division  of  the  year  into  spring,  summer,  and  winter)  a  season  of  four 
months. 

But  this  assumed  meaning  of  the  word  year,  making  it  a  twelfth,  or  a  half,  or  a  third,  or  a 
fourth  of  the  solar  year,  has  no  historical  support;  there  being  no  evidence  that  such  portions 
of  time  were  ever  made  the  unit  of  measure  for  long  periods,  such  as  the  duration  of  human  life, 
or  were  ever  used  for  any  other  purpose  than  as  fractions  of  the  solar  year. 

It  fails,  moreover,  in  its  application.  For  though  it  might  explain  the  cases  occurring  in  this 
chapter,  it  fails  when  applied  to  ch.  11,  tenth  and  following  verses,  where  some  are  mentioned 
as  having  sons  at  the  age  of  thirty,  and  as  living  to  the  age  of  four  or  five  hundred  3-ears. 

The  term  of  life,  in  man  as  in  all  other  animals,  is  God's  ordinance.  The  progress  of  a  human 
being  from  infancy,  through  childhood,  youth,  and  manhood,  to  old  age,  is  a  law  of  his  consti- 
tution ordained  by  his  Maker ;  and  the  length  of  time  assigned  for  each,  together  with  the  seconds 
ary  causes  on  which  it  depends,  is  also  his  appointment.  Our  belief  that  it  was  ever  otherwise 
than  at  present,  depends  on  our  confidence  in  the  record  which  asserts  it.  It  is  not  an  unphilo- 
snphical  supposition,  that  man  was  originally  so  constituted,  that  his  term  of  life  should  go  on 
diminishing  till  it  reached  its  minimum,  and  there  remain  stationary. 

V.  6.  The  one  mentioned  in  these  genealogies  is  not  always  the  first-born  son.  It  is  the  one 
through  whom  the  particular  line  traced  in  the  genealogy  was  continued,  and  the  others  are 
passed  over.    Compare  the  third  verse. 

26 


GENESIS.  Chap.  v. 


18  And  Jared  lived  a  hundred  and  sixty-two  years,  and  be- 

19  got  Enoch.     And  Jared  lived,  after  he  begot  Enoch,  eight 

20  hundred  years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters.  And  all  the 
days  of  Jared  were  nine  hundred  and  sixty-two  years  ;  and 
he  died. 

21  And  Enoch  lived  sixty-five  years,  and  begot  Methuselah. 

22  And  Enoch  walked  with  God,  after  he  begot  Methuselah, 

23  three  hundred  years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters.  And 
all  the  days  of  Enoch  were  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 

24  years.  And  Enoch  walked  with  God  ;  and  he  was  not,  for 
God  took  him. 

25  And  Methuselah  lived  a  hundred  and  eighty-seven  years, 

26  and  begot  Lamech.  And  Methuselah  lived,  after  he  begot 
Lamech.  seven   hundred  and  eighty -two  years,   and  begot 

27  sons  and  daughters.  And  all  the  days  of  Methuselah  were 
nine  hundred  and  sixty-nine  years  ;  and  he  died. 

28  And  Lamech  lived  a  hundred  and  eighty-two  years,  and 

29  begot  a  son.     And  he  called  his  name  Noah,  saying  : 

This  one  will  comfort  us, 

From  our  labor, 

And  from  the  toil  of  our  hands, 

From  the  ground, 

Which  Jehovah  cursed. 

V.  22.  Walked  with  God.  This  expresses  the  most  intimate  converse,  founded  on  a  unity  of 
spirit  and  purpose.  (Compare  Amos  3  :  3.)  It  is  said  of  no  other  except  Noah  (ch.  G  :  9).  It 
is  not  implied  that  no  others  of  the  race  were  devout  men;  but  that  Enoch  was  pre-eminently 
so,  and  as  such  was  distinguished  by  the  manner  of  his  removal  from  earth  (v.  24). 

V.  24.  And  he  was  not,  naturally  expresses  sudden  and  mysterious  removal,  or  disappearance. 
Compare  Isaiah  17  :  14 ;  Job  27  :  19;  Psalm  103  :  16.  The  phraseology  and  connection  show 
that  a  removal  from  earth  is  meant;  or  as  the  apostle  expresses  it  (Heb.  11  :  5),  he  "was  trans- 
lated, that  he  should  not  see  death." 

Was  not,  for  God  took  him.  Many  have  maintained  that  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  contain  no 
intimation  of  a  future  life,  beyond  the  grave.  But  the  thoughtful,  reflecting  Hebrew  could  not 
read  this  passage,  without  seeing  in  it  decisive  evidence  of  a  state  of  happiness  for  the  right- 
eous after  death.  Length  of  life  (so  he  would  necessarily  reason)  is  the  promised  reward  of 
piety.  Yet  this  man,  specially  distinguished  as  one  who  "  walked  with  God,"  was  taken  away 
in  the  midst  of  his  days,  when  he  had  barely  attained  to  half  the  then  usual  age  of  man.  And 
it  is  said,  moreover,  that  "  God  took  him;"  that  is,  took  him  to  himself,  for  such  is  the  proper 
meaning  of  the  word.  He  walked  with  God,  and  God  took  him  to  himself!  What  can  this 
mean,  but  that  He,  with  whom  he  held  intimate  converse  on  earth,  took  him  to  a  still  nearer 
and  happier  intercourse  with  himself,  in  a  higher  and  purer  state  of  being  ?  On  this  view  alone 
could  the  thoughtful  Hebrew  reader  reconcile  this  statement  with  what  he  was  elsewhere  taught. 

V.  29.     Noah  ;  meaning,  Rest. 

In  the  following  words  (which  have  the  form  of  poetry  in  the  Hebrew)  there  appears  to  be 
no  reference  to  Noah's  subsequent  history,  as  given  us  in  the  sacred  records.    They  seem  rather 

2t 


Chap,  vl  GENESIS. 


30  And  Lamech  lived,  after  he  begot  Noah,  five  hundred  and 

31  ninety-five  years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters.  And  all 
the  days  of  Lamech  were  seven  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
years  ;  and  he  died. 

32  And  Noah  was  five  hundred  years  old.  And  Noah  begot 
Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth. 

1  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  men  began  to  be  numerous  on 
the  face  of  the  ground,  and  daughters  were  born  to  them. 

2  And  the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men,  that  they 
were  fair ;  and  they  took  for  themselves  wives  of  all  whom 
they  chose. 

3  And  Jehovah  said:  My  Spirit  shall  not  forever  strive 
with  man,  in  their  erring.  He  is  flesh ;  and  his  days  shall 
be  a  hundred  and  twenty  years. 

V.  3.     Or,  judge  man 

to  express  the  pious  and  grateful  feelings  of  poor,  toil-worn  parents  on  the  birth  of  a  son,  from 
whom  they  hoped  for  aid  and  relief  in  the  labors  to  which  sin  had  subjected  man. 

From  the  ground.  This  may  be  taken,  either  with  the  first  line,  in  the  same  relation  to  it  aa 
the  second ;  or  with  the  third  line,  in  the  sense  of  proceeding  from  the  ground,  as  the  source 
or  occasion  of  painful  toil. 

The  use  of  the  word  Jehovah  by  the  pious  Lamech,  in  a  section  where  the  narrator  uses  the 
word  God,  is  explained  by  what  has  been  said  on  the  last  clause  of  ch.  4  :  26. 

V.  32.  This  statement  is  made  in  a  general  manner  without  intending  to  be  definite.  Noah 
was  of  this  age  (is  the  meaning)  at  the  birth  of  the  first-born  of  the  three  sons  here  mentioned. 
For  Shem  is  said  (11  :  10)  to  have  been  a  hundred  years  old,  two  years  after  the  Flood.  Hence 
Japheth,  his  elder  brother  (10  :  21),  may  have  been  born  at  the  age  of  Noah  here  mentioned. 
Ham  was  the  youngest  of  the  three,  as  is  stated  in  ch.  9  :  24. 

Chs.  6-9.  Third  part  of  the  second  division :  Account  of  the  Flood,  and  subsequent  history  of 
Noah. 

In  this  section,  the  name  of  the  Divine  Being  is  God;  occasionally  Jehovah,  as  in  6  :  3,  5,  6, 
7,8;  7:1,5,16;  8:20,  21;  9:26. 

VV.  1-12.  Intermarriages  between  the  two  races  descended  from  Adam,  and  consequent 
general  corruption. 

V.  2.  Sons  of  God.  The  worshipers  of  Jehovah  are  so  designated  in  Deut.  14  : 1,  Psalm  73 : 
15,  Prov.  14  :  26.  It  is  a  natural  and  appropriate  designation,  recognizing  in  them  a  divinely 
imparted  principle,  and  the  divine  relation  founded  on  it. 

The  descendants  of  Seth  are  meant,  among  whom,  as  a  race,  the  worship  of  the  true  God  was 
maintained  ;  though,  in  process  of  time,  it  became  with  many  a  mere  outward  form,  as  their  choice 
of  wedded  companions  shows. 

After  such  a  use  of  the  phrase  sons  of  God,  the  word  men  takes  a  peculiar  and  special  mean- 
ing, designating  those  in  whom  this  divinely  imparted  principle  is  wanting,— men,  and  nothing 
more.  By  daughters  of  men  are  meant,  therefore,  not  merely  women,  females  of  the  human 
family,  but  those  of  a  race  estranged  from  the  knowledge  and  worship  of  the  true  God. 

Of  alt  whom  they  chose ;  of  all,  without  distinction,  not  regarding  the  race  to  which  they  be- 
longed. Thus  the  bounds  which  separated  the  two  races  were  broken  over ;  and  this  resulted 
in  universal  irreligion  and  lawlessness. 

V.  3.  Strive  with  man ;  that  is,  admonish  and  reprove  him.  Margin,  judge  man,  to  the  same 
effect;  acting  as  judge,  and  condemning  his  sinful  conduct  to  his  own  consciousness. 

28 


GENESIS.  Chap.  yi. 


4  The  men  of  violence  were  in  the  earth  in  those  clays. 
And  also  after  the  sons  of  God  came  in  unto  the  daughters 
of  men,  they  bore  children  to  them.  These  were  the 
mighty  men,  who  of  old  were  the  men  of  renown. 

6  And  Jehovah  saw  that  the  evil  of  man  was  great  in  the 
earth;  and  every  device  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was 

6  only  evil,  all  the  day.  And  Jehovah  repented  that  he  made 
man  on  the  earth,  and  he  was  grieved  at  his  heart. 

7  And  Jehovah  said  :  I  will  wipe  off  man,  whom  I  created, 

In  their  erring.  The  verb  means,  to  go  astray  (as  it  is  well  rendered  in  Psalm  119  :  G7),  to  err 
(from  the  right  way),  either  consciously,  or  through  inattention  or  ignorance.  In  Lev.  5  :  18,  it 
is  correctly  rendered  in  the  common  English  version,  "  wherein  he  erred ;"  as  is  also  the  corre- 
sponding noun,  in  Eccl.  5:6,  "  it  was  an  error,"  and  10  :  5,  "an  error  which  proceedeth  from 
the  ruler." 

Shall  not  forever  strive  with  man.  This  course  of  probationary  and  punitive  discipline  shall 
not  go  on  without  end,  but  shall  give  place  to  the  final  act  of  retributive  justice.  For  the  sen- 
timent, compare  1  Peter  3  :  19,  20. 

He  is  flesh;  frail,  both  physically  and  morally;  depraved,  as  well  as  mortal,  and  as  such  shall 
be  treated.  But  time  shall  be  allowed  him  (the  whole  race  of  man)  for  repentance  and  reforma- 
tion ;  and  his  days  (the  continuance  of  the  race  upon  earth)  shall  be  prolonged  to  a  hundred  and 
twenty  years.  The  sacred  writer  here  records  the  divine  purpose — what  God  purposed  in  him- 
self—not  what  he  communicated  of  his  designs.  The  exact  number  of  years  was  determined  by 
the  event,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  was  communicated  beforehand. 

Some  take  this  for  the  limit  of  human  life,  from  that  time  onward.  But  there  is  no  indication 
that  it  was  ev.er  fixed  at  this  number  of  years ;  and  that  it  was  not  now  thus  limited,  is  shown  in 
ch.  11  :  11-26. 

It  has  also  been  taken  for  the  interval  of  time  "  while  the  ark  was  preparing"  (1  Pet.  3 :  20). 
But  this  is  impossible.  From  the  birth  of  Japheth  (ch.  5  :  32)  to  the  Flood  (ch.  7  :  11)  was  a 
hundred  years.  When  the  direction  for  building  the  ark  was  given  to  Noah  (vv.  13  and  follow- 
ing) his  sons  were  already  grown  to  manhood  (v.  18)  ;  and  it  could  not,  therefore,  have  been 
a  hundred  and  twenty  years  before  the  Flood.  « 

V.  4.  The  men  of  violence;  with  the  definite  article,  as  being  the  well-known  and  dreaded 
class  of  men,  descendants  of  Caiu,  who  were  distinguished  for  deeds  of  violence,  and  (as  may  be 
inferred  from  this)  for  extraordinary  stature  and  physical  strength.  (Compare  Num.  13  :  32,  33). 
Hence  "  The  men  of  violence  ;"  that  is,  renowned  as  such. 

The  meaning  of  the  passage  may  be  stated  thus  :  The  descendants  of  Cain  were  an  irreligious 
race,  and  some  were  distinguished  for  personal  prowess  and  the  oppressive  use  of  it.  Descend- 
ants of  Seth  intermarried  with  women  of  this  race ;  and  from  this  union  sprang  men  distinguished 
for  like  character  and  conduct.    Thus  the  whole  race  of  man  became  corrupt. 

V.  5.  Every  device  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart;  that  is,  all  that  the  thoughts  of  his  heart 
devise.  All  the  day;  the  whole  day,  all  the  time,  without  intermission.  Language  could  not 
describe  more  strongly  the  entire  corruption  of  the  race. 

V.  6.  We  can  not  presume  to  fathom  the  depth  of  meaning  in  such  language,  when  spoken  of 
the  infinite  and  all-perfect  God.  How  the  divine  nature  is  affected  by  the  guilt  a^id  folly  of  sin 
is  unknown  to  us ;  but  this  language  is  designed  to  bring  it  as  near  to  our  conception  as  is  pos- 
sible for  our  finite  and  imperfect  nature. 

In  1  Sam.  15  :  29,  it  is  said  of  God,  "  He  is  not  a  man  that  he  should  repent ;"  that  is,  as  man 
repents.  The  unchanging  God  can  not  repent  in  such  a  sense  as  does  changeful  man,  whose  pur- 
pose of  to-day  may  give  place  to  another  of  to-morrow. 

He  was  grieved  at  his  heart,  expresses  the  depth  of  sorrow,  and  the  tender  pity,  with  which 
divine  love  legards  the  base  ingratitude  of  sin. 

V.  7.  Will  wipe  off.  The  verb  is  used  in  its  primary  literal  meaning  in  Prov.  30  :  20,  "  she 
eats,  and  wipes  her  mouth ;"  Isaiah  25  :  8,  "  will  wipe  away  tears ;"  2  Kings  21  :  13,  properly, 
"as  one  wipes  the  dish;  he  wipes,  and  turns  it  on  its  face."    It  is  proper  that  the  distinction 

29 


Chap.  vi.  GENESIS. 


from  the  face  of  the  ground  ;  from  man  to  cattle,  to  reptile, 
and  to  the  fowls  of  heaven ;  for  I  repent  that  I  made  them. 

8  But  Noah  found  favor  in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah. 

9  These  are  the  generations  of  Noah.     Noah  was  a  just 
man  ;  perfect  was  he  in  his  generations  ;  Noah  walked  with 

10  God.     And  Noah  begot  three  sons,  Shem,  Ham,  and  Ja- 

11  pheth.     And  the  earth  was  corrupt  before  God;   and  the 

12  earth  was  filled  with  violence.  And  God  saw  the  earth, 
and  behold,  it  was  corrupted  ;  for  all  flesh  had  corrupted  its 
way  upon  the  earth. 

is  And  God  said  to  Noah :  The  end  of  all  flesh  is  come  be- 
fore me  ;  for  the  earth  is  filled  with  violence  through  them  ; 
and  behold,  I  will  destroy  them  with  the  earth. 

14  Make  thee  an  ark  of  cypress  wood.*  With  cells  shalt  thou 
make  the  ark,  and  shalt  pitch  it  within  and  without  with 

15  pitch.  And  this  is  what  thou  shalt  make  it ;  three  hundred 
cubits  shall  be  the  length  of  the  ark,  fifty  cubits  its  breadth, 

16  and  thirty  cubits  its  height.  Light  shalt  thou  make  for 
the  ark  ;  and  to  a  cubit  shalt  thou  finish  it  above  ;  and  the 

V.  14.     Or,  of  resinous  wood 
•V.  10.     Or,  Liglits  shalt  tliou  make  Or,  them  Or,  from  above  (or,  upward) 

should  be  made,  here  and  in  7  :  4,  23,  between  this  verb  and  the  verb  "destroy"  in  vv.  13, 17, 
and  that  the  figurative  form  of  the  original  should  be  preserved. 

V.  9.  Generations.  See  the  remark  on  ch.  2  :  4,  second  paragraph.  In  his  generations ; 
through  which  his  life  extended. 

V.  13.  Is  come  before  me ;  is  present  to  my  view ;  no  longer  a  remote  and  distant  thing,  but 
near  at  hand,  and  about  to  take  place.  With  the  earth  ;  which  would  be  utterly  laid  waste,  and 
in  that  sense  destroyed. 

V.  14.  An  ark.  The  word  is  used  only  here,  and  in  Ex.  2  :  3,  5,  of  the  ark  of  rushes,  in  which 
the  infant  Moses  was  exposed. 

It  properly  means  a  box,  or  chest,  and  in  shape  was  an  oblong  square.  The  ark  was  intended 
merely  for  floating  on  the  water,  and  not  for  sailing.  Vessels  have  been  built  in  modern  times, 
with  the  same  construction  and  proportions,  and  have  been  found  to  carry  a  third  more  freight 
than  ships  of  equal  dimensions. 

Cypress  ivood;  used  anciently  in  ship-building,  for  which  it  was  well  adapted  by  its  light- 
ness and  durability.  The  same  is  true  of  the  more  comprehensive  designation,  resinous  icood 
(margin),  embracing  the  pine,  fir,  cypress,  cedar,  etc.  But  the  more  probable  rendering  is  given 
in  the  text. 

With  cells  ;  stalls  for  the  various  animals  to  be  provided  for. 

V.  15.  Cubit ;  the  length  of  the  fore-arm  from  the  elbow  to  the  end  of  the  middle  finger ;  va- 
riously estimated  at  from  eighteen  to  twenty-one  inches. 

V.  16.  Light  (or,  as  in  the  margin,  lights).  The  word  used  here  ia  not  the  one  rendered 
"  window"  in  ch.  8  :  6. 

To  a  cubit  shall  thou  finish  it  above.  The  meaning  of  this  expression  is  very  obscure,  from 
its  extreme  brevity,  and  from  the  uncertain  reference  of  the  pronoun  (whether  to  "light,"  or 
to- "the  ark"),  as  well  as  the  different  uses  of  the  word  rendered  above,  and  in  the  margin,  from 
above,  or  upward.    The  pronoun  it  (or  them)  is  usually  referred  to  light,  or  collectively  lights 

30 


GENESIS.  Chap.  vn. 


door  of  the  ark  shalt  thou  set  in  the  side  thereof;  with 
lower,  second,  and  third  stories  shalt  thou  make  it. 

17  And  I,  behold  I  bring  the  flood  of  waters  upon  the  earth, 
to  destroy  all  flesh,  wherein  is  the  breath  of  life,  from  un- 
der the  heavens.     All  that  is  in  the  earth  shall  expire. 

18  And  I  establish  my  covenant  with  thee  ;  and  thou  shalt 
come  into  the  ark,  thou,  and  thy  sons,  and  thy  wife  and  the 

19  wives  of  thy  sons,  with  thee.  And  of  all  the  living  of  all 
flesh,  two  of  all  shalt  thou  bring  into  the  ark,  to  keep  alive 

20  with  thee  ;  a  male  and  a  female  shall  they  be.  Of  the  fowl 
after  its  kind,  and  of  cattle  after  their  kind,  and  of  every 
reptile  of  the  ground  after  its  kind,  two  of  all  shall  come  to 

21  thee,  to  keep  them  alive.  And  do  thou  take  to  thee  of  all 
food  that  may  be  eaten,  and  thou  shalt  gather  it  to  thee  ; 
and  it  shall  be  to  thee  and  to  them  for  food. 

22  And  Noah  did  it.  According  to  all  that  God  commanded 
him,  so  did  he. 

1       And   Jehovah   said  to  Noah :    Come   thou,  and  all  thy 

V.  18.     Or,  And  I  will  maintain  my  covenant 

(margin);  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  placed  in  the  roof  {above),  and  finished  "  to  a  cubit" 
in  size.  The  other  rendering,  to  a  cubit  from  above,  means,  as  some  suppose,  to  a  cubit's 
length,  measuring  from  the  top  downward,  that  is,  a  cubit  in  height;  or,  as  others  think,  to  a 
cubit's  distance  from  the  top  of  the  ark  or  its  projecting  roof,  leaving  the  space  of  a  cubit  be- 
tween it  and  the  edge  of  the  roof;  or,  according  to  others,  "  to  a  cubit"  in  width,  extending 
"  from  above"  downward  through  all  the  three  tiers  in  the  ark,  giving  light  to  each.  The  ren- 
dering, to  a  cubit  shalt  thou  finish  it  (or  them)  upward,  is  supposed  to  mean,  that  it  should  be 
finished  (terminated)  at  the  height  of  a  cubit,  that  is,  should  be  made  a  cubit  in  height;  the 
only  supposition  (with  the  similar  one,  the  second  given  above)  on  which  the  word,"  finish" 
seems  applicable,  with  this  reference  of  the  pronoun. 

But  on  neither  of  these  suppositions  does  the  word  "  finish,"  bring  to  completion,  seem  very 
applicable,  with  this  reference.  The  word  more  naturally  refers  to  the  finishing  of  the  whole 
structure,  by  completing  the  iuclosure  above.  To  a  cubit  (in  height)  shalt  thou  finish,  it  above 
(or,  ujnoard)  would  then  indicate  the  pitch  of  the  roof  or  deck.  That  it  would  be  nearly  fiat  is 
no  objection,  that  being  the  case  also  with  the  deck  of  a  ship,  and  no  other  shape  being  equally 
safe. 

The  description  is  of  course  very  general,  as  must  be  the  case  in  describing  such  a  structure 
in  half  a  dozen  lines  ;  and  much  remains  untold,  in  regard  to  light,  ventilation,  and  other  neces- 
sary arrangements. 

From  ch.  8  :  13  it  has  been  inferred  that  light  was  not  admitted  at  the  sides  of  the  ark ;  as,  if 
it  had  been,  Noah  could  have  seen  the  state  of  the  earth,  without  "removing  the  covering  of 
the  ark."  But  this  is  a  misinterpretation  of  that  passage.  It  is  evident  from  ch.  8  :  5,  that  ob- 
jects could  be  seen  from  the  ark  before  the  covering  was  removed ;  and  this  must  have  been 
made  possible  by  the  nece>sary  provisions  for  ventilation  and  cleanliness. 

Ch.  7  :  1-3.  The  forbearance  of  God,  during  the  interval  in  which  "  the  ark  was  preparing" 
(1  Peter  3  :  20),  and  the  solemn  admonitions  enforced  by  such  signal  evidence  of  God's  purpose 
of  speedy  retribution,  seem  to  have  failed  to  reclaim  »""ffom  thoir  evil  course  •  nnd,  a«  is  usual 

31 


Chap.  vh.  GENESIS. 


house,  into  the  ark  ;  for  thee  have  I  seen  righteous  before 

2  me  in  this  generation.  Of  all  clean  cattle  thou  shalt  take  to 
thee  sevea  of  each,  a  male    and   his   mate  ;   and  of  cattle 

3  that  are  not  clean  two,  a  male  and  his  mate  ;  also  of  the 
fowls  of  heaven  seven  of  each,  male  and  female  ;  to  keep 

4  seed  alive  on  the  face  of  all  the  earth.  For  yet  seven 
days,  and  I  will  cause  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth  forty  days 
and  forty  nights  ;  and  every  being  that  I  made  will  I  wipe 
off  from  the  face  of  the  ground. 

6  And  Noah  did  according  to  all  that  Jehovah  commanded 
him. 

6  And  Noah  was  six  hundred  years  old,  when  the  flood  of 

7  waters  was  upon  the  earth.  And  Noah  went  in,  and  his 
sons,  and  his  wife  and  the  wives  of  his  sons,  with  him,  into 

8  the  ark,  because  of  the  waters  of  the  flood.  Of  the  clean 
cattle,  and  of  cattle  that  are  not  clean,  and  of  the  fowl,  and 

9  all  that  moves  upon  the  ground,  there  went  in  two  of  each 
to  Noah  into  the  ark,  a  male  and  a  female,  as  God  com- 
manded Noah. 

when  such  admonitions  fail  of  the  intended  effect,  had  doubtless  hardened  them  in  impiety. 
Their  history  is  written  in  the  brief  and  impressive  words  of  the  Savior  (Matt.  24  :  38)  :  "  They 
were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  .  .  .  and  knew  not  until  the 
Flood  came,  and  took  all  away."  The  formal  reiteration  of  the  testimony  to  Noah's  piety  in  the 
midst  of  such  a  people,  is  well  suited  to  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion;  and  the  deep  religious 
tone  of  the  whole  narrative  exhibits  a  striking  contrast  to  the  frivolous  traditionary  accounts  of 
this  great  catastrophe,  found  among  almost  all  pagan  nations. 

The  ark  being  now  completed,  after  an  interval  of  time  of  unknown  length  (see  the  note  on 
ch.  6  :  3,  last  paragraph),  Noah  receives  a  more  specific  direction  in  regard  to  the  number  of 
clean  cattle  to  be  admitted  into  the  ark.  This  does  not  conflict  with  the  statement  in  ch.  6  :  19, 
20,  but  is  added  as  a  further  and  special  direction  respecting  this  class  of  animals. 

V.  2.     Clean;  such  animals  as  "  divide  the  hoof  and  chew  the  cud"  (Lev.  11  :  2-8). 

Seven  of  each.  Either  seven  individuals  of  each  class  of  animals,  which  is  the  most  natural 
meaning  of  the  expression ;  or  seven  pairs  of  each,  which  accords  best  with  the  following  words, 
a  male  and  liis  mate. 

Observe  that  only  clean  cattle  (domestic  animals;  see  the  note  on  ch.  1  :  24,  25,  third  para- 
graph) are  thus  distinguished.     The  number,  therefore,  would  not  be  great. 

The  necessity  for  the  speedy  propagation  of  this  class  of  animals,  and  the  intended  use  of  the 
male  in  sacrifice  (ch.  8  :  20;  compare  Lev.  1 :  2,  3),  appear  to  be  the  grounds  of  the  distinction. 

V.  4.  The  septimal  division  of  time,  observable  in  this  narrative  (compare  ch.  8  :  10,  12),  is  a 
strong  corroborative  testimony  to  the  primitive  institution  of  the  Sabbath.  It  is  not  probable 
that  the  division  was  suggested  by  successive  changes  of  the  moon,  and  was  dependent  on  them ; 
for  these  are  not  sufficiently  definite  and  observable  for  such  a  purpose. 

Forty  days,  etc.  This  may  be  here  the  exact  number  of  days  and  nights  during  which  the 
rain  continued.  But  the  number/orty  seems  to  be  sometimes  used,  and  may  be  here,  for  a  long 
indefinite  number.  Compare,  for' example,  Ex.  24  :  18  ;  Num.  13  :  25  ;  Deut.  9  :  9, 18,  25  ;  1  Kings 
19  :  8 ;  Judges  3  :  11,  5  :  31,  8  :  28,  13  :  1 ;  2  Sam.  15  :  7 ;  Ezek.  29  :  11,  13. 

V.  9.  Two  of  each,  is  not  at  variance  with  the  first  direction  given  in  the  second  verse.    This 

32 


GENESIS.  Chap,  vil 


10  And  it  came  to  pass,  after  the  seven  days,  that  the  waters 

11  of  the  flood  were  upon  the  earth.  In  the  six  hundredth 
year  of  Noah's  life,  in  the  second  month,  on  the  seventeenth 
day  of  the  month,  on  that  day  were  all  the  fountains  of  the 
great  abyss  broken  up,   and  the  windows  of  the  heavens 

12  were  opened.    And  the  heavy  rain  was  upon  the  earth  forty 

13  days  and  forty  nights.  On  the  selfsame  day  entered  Noah, 
and  Shem,  and  Ham,  and  Japheth,  sons  of  Noah,  and  the 
wife  of  Noah,  and  the  three  wives  of  his  sons  with  them, 

14  into  the  ark  ;  they,  and  every  living  thing  "after  its  kind, 
and  all  the  cattle  after  their  kind,  and  every  reptile  that 
creeps  on  the  earth  after  its  kind,  and  every  fowl  after  its 

15  kind,  every  bird  of  every  sort.  And  they  went  in  to  Noah 
into  the  ark,  two  of  each,  of  all  flesh  wherein  is  the  breath 

16  of  life.  And  they  that  went  in,  went  in  a  male  and  a  fe- 
male of  all  flesh,  as  God  commanded  him.  And  Jehovah 
closed  up  after  him. 

17  And  the  flood  was  forty  days  upon  the  earth  ;  and  the 
waters  increased,  and  bore  up  the  ark,  and  it  rose  up  from 

18  the  earth.    And  the  waters  prevailed,  and  increased  mightily 

is  the  general  direction  for  both  clean  and  unclean,  and  does  not  exclude  an  additional  and  special 
one  for  the  former. 

V.  10.  After  the  seven  days  ;  the  seven  days  mentioned  in  the  fourth  verse.  Hence  the  use 
of  the  definite  article. 

V.  11.  The  second  month.  The  year  commenced  at  the  time  of  the  autumnal  equinox;  and 
the  seventeenth  day  of  the  second  month  fell  iu  the  first  quarter  of  November,  when  the  rainy 
season  had  begun. 

The  remainder  of  the  verse  expresses,  in  strong  figurative  language,  the  rush  of  waters  to  the 
earth's  surface,  from  above  and  below,  as  though  windows  were  opened  in  the  heavens,  and  the 
fountains  of  the  great  abyss  were  broken  up. 

V.  13.  On  the  self  same  day  (namely,  the  seventeenth),  the  necessary  arrangements  were  com- 
pleted by  the  entrance  of  Noah  and  his  family  into  the  ark.  What  is  stated  in  the  next  three 
verses  had  already  taken  place. 

The  words,  wife  of  Noah,  and  the  three  wives  of  his  sons,  show  that  in  Noah's  family  the  ori- 
ginal institution  of  marriage  was  preserved. 

V.  1G.  Closed  up  after  him  ;  an  expression  of  God's  providential  care,  that  watched  over  and 
preserved  the  ark  through  the  storms  and  floods  that  followed. 

VV.  17-20.  The  charm  of  the  preceding  narrative  is  the  simple  earnestness  with  which  all 
the  particulars  are  minutely  detailed,  and  are  fondly  dwelt  upon  and  reiterated.  In  the  follow- 
ing verses  the  narrative  proceeds  with  increasing  animation,  sketching  rapidly  and  vividly  the 
several  stages  of  the  great  catastrophe.  The  following  points  in  its  progress  are  distinctly 
marked  in  tin;  narration  : 

(V.  17.)  The  flood  has  now  been  along  time  on  the  earth.  The  waters  still  increase,  and 
rising  higher  and  higher  at  length  reach  the  ark,  and  lift  it  from  its  resting-nlace,  and  it  is  raised 
from  the  earth. 

(V.  IS.)  The  waters  still  prevail,  and  increase  mightily  upon  the  earth;  and  the  ark  now 
floats  freely  on  the  surface  of  the  waters. 

c  33 


Chap.  vm.  GENESIS. 


upon  the  earth  j  and  the  ark  went  upon  the  face  of  the  wa- 

19  ters.  And  the  waters  prevailed  mightily,  mightily,  upon 
the  earth  ;  and  all  the  high  mountains,  that  are  under  the 

20  whole  heavens,  were  covered.  Fifteen  cubits  upward  did 
the  waters  prevail  ;'and  the  mountains  were  covered. 

21  And  all  flesh  expired  that  moved  upon  the  earth,  of  fowl, 
and  of  cattle,  and  of  beast,  and  of  every  creeping  thing  that 

22  creeps  upon  the  earth',  and  every  man.  All  in  whose  nos- 
trils was  the  breath  of  a  spirit  of  life,  of  all  that  was  on  the 

23  dry  land,  diSd.  And  every  being  was  wiped  off,  which  was 
upon  the  face  of  the  ground,  from  man  to  cattle,  to  reptile, 
and  to  the  fowl  of  the  heavens  ;  and  they  were  wiped  off 
from  the  earth,  and  there  remained  only  Noah,  and  they 
that  were  with  him  in  the  ark. 

24  And  the  waters  prevailed  upon  the  earth  a  hundred  and 
fifty  days. 

1  And  God  remembered  Noah,  and  every  living  thing,  and 
all  the  cattle  that  were  with  him  in  the  ark ;  and  God 
caused  a  wind  to  pass  over  the  earth,  and  the  waters  sub- 

2  sided.  And  the  fountains  of  the  abyss  and  the  windows  of 
heaven  were  closed,  and  the  heavy  rain  from  heaven  was 

3  restrained.  And  the  waters  returned  from  off  the  earth 
continually ;  and  the  waters  abated  from  the  end  of  a  hun- 

4  dred  and  fifty  days.     And  the  ark  rested   in   the   seventh 

(V.  19.)  The  flood  still  increases,  and  the  waters  prevail  mightily,  mightily,  upon  the  earth, 
and  cover  all  its  mountains. 

(V.  20.)  The  waters  yet  increase,  the  mighty  masses  still  swelling  upward,  and  rising  fifteen 
cubits  after  the  mountains  were  covered. 

The  whole  description  is  marked  by  the  glow  and  animation  of  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene. 

V.  20.  And  the  mountains  were  covered;  that  is,  were  (already)  covered,  equivalent  to  when 
the  mountains  were  covered.  Or  this  may  be  an  emphatic  repetition  of  the  statement,— as  much 
as  to  say,  and  the  very  mountains  were  covered. 

V.  22.  A  spirit  of  life.  The  word  rendered  spirit  is  literally  breath  (like  our  word  spirit),  and 
with  or  without  the  word  life  (ch.  G  :  17)  means  breath  of  life,  the  vital  breath,  on  which  life  is 
made  dependent.  Hence  it  comes  to  mean,  as  here,  the  principle  of  life,  the  vital  spirit,  whether 
in  man  or  other  animals.    Compare  Eccl.  3  :  19,  21. 

V.  24.  Prevailed  .  ".  .  a  hundred  and  fifty  days ;  dating  perhaps  (as  the  word  prevailed 
Beems  to  indicate)  from  the  stage  of  the  flood  described  in  v.  18,  and  terminating  with  that  de- 
Bcribed  in  ch.  8  :  3,  when  the  waters  were  abating.     But  see  the  remarks  on  ch.  8  :  4. 

Ch.  8  :  4.  In  the  seventh  month,  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  the  month  ;  being  five  months,  or  a 
hundred  and  fifty  days,  from  the  entrance  into  the  ark  (ch.  7  :  11-13) ;  which  may  have  been  ths 
period  intended  in  ch.  7  :  24. 

Ararat  was  the  name  of  a  region  of  country  in  Armenia.    Compare  2  Kings  19  :  37,  and  Isaiah 

34 


GENESIS.  Chap,  vhl 


month,  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  the  month,  on  the  mount- 
6  ains  of  Ararat.     And  the  waters  were  abating  continually 
until  the   tenth  month.     In  the  tenth,  on  the  first  of  the 
month,  were  the  tops  of  the  mountains  seen. 

6  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  end  of  forty  days,  that  Noah 

7  opened  the  window  of  the  ark  which  he  made.  And  he 
sent  forth  the  raven ;  and  he  went  forth,  going  forth  and 
returning,  until  the  drying  up  of  the  waters  from  off  the 
earth. 

8  And  he  sent  forth  the  dove  from  him,  to  see  if  the  waters 

9  were  lightened  from'  off  the  face  of  the  ground.  And  the 
dove  found  not  a  resting-place  for  the  sole  of  her  foot,  and 
she  returned  to  him  into  the  ark;  for  the  waters  were  on 
the  face  of  all  the  earth.  And  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and 
took  her,  and  brought  her  in  to  him  into  the  ark. 

10  And  he  waited  yet  another  seven  days ;  and  again  he  sent 

11  forth  the  dove  from  the  ark.  And  the  dove  came  in  to  him 
at  evening;  and  lo,  in  her  mouth  an  olive-leaf  plucked  off! 
And  Noah  knew  that  the  waters  were  lightened  from  off  the 
earth. 

12  And  he  waited  yet  another  seven  days,  and  sent  forth  the 
dove  ;  and  she  returned  to  him  no  more. 

13  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  six  hundred  and  first  year,  in 
the  first  month,  on  the  first  of  the  month,  that  the  waters 
were  dried  up  from  off  the  earth.     And  Noah  removed  the 

37  :  3S  (in  both  properly  land  of  Ararat),  and  Jer.  51  :  27,  where  it  is  mentioned  in  connection 
with  Mlnni,  another  region  of  Armenia. 

W.  7-0.  He  went  forth,  going  forth  and  returning,  until  the  drying  up  of  the  toaters  ;  that  is. 
he  continued  to  go  forth  from  the  ark,  and  to  return  to  it,  till  the  waters  were  dried  up.  The 
raven,  accustomed  to  feed  on  carrion,  was  daily  tempted  forth,  to  prey  on  the  floating  carcasses, 
returning  to  the  ark  for  rest.  But  the  dove  (v.  9),  finding  neither  resting-place  nor  her  accus- 
tomed food,  returned  to  the  ark  and  remained  there. 

V.  10.  Another  seven  days,  shows  that  he  had  before  waited  seven  days,  when  he  first  sent 
forth  the  dove  (v.  8) ;  and  the  same  interval  occurs  a  third  time  in  v.  12,  indicating  an  established 
septimal  division  of  time. 

V.  11.  Plucked  off.  The  freshness  of  the  fracture  showed  that  the  leaf  was  plucked  from  the 
tree,  and  not  picked  up  from  the  surface  of  the  water. 

By  sending  forth  the  dove,  he  might  hope  to  obtain  some  indication  of  the  state  of  the  earth  at 
a  distance,  beyond  the  sphere  of  vision  from  the  ark.  Came  in  to  him  at  evening,  implies  that 
she  had  been  long  on  the  wing. 

VV.  13,  14.    In  the  six  hundred  and  first  year,  of  Noah's  life ;  compare  ch.  7  :  11. 

The  waters  were  now  "  dried  up  from  off  the  earth ;"  and  Noah  removed  the  covering  of  the 
ark,  and  from  its  top,  the  highest  point  of  view  he  could  reach,  saw  no  water  on  the  face  of  the 
ground. 

35 


Chap,  m  GENESIS. 


covering  of  the  ark,  and  saw,  and  behold  the  face  of  the 
14  ground  was  dry.     And  in  the  second  month,  on  the  seven 
and  twentieth  day  of  the  month,  was  the  earth  dried. 

V.  14.  The  flood  commenced  (cli.  7  :  11)  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  the  second  month ;  on 
the  first  day  of  the  following  year  (ch.  8  :  13),  after  ten  and  a  half  months  or  about  three  hun- 
dred and  eight  days,  the  waters  of  the  flood  had  disappeared  from  the  surface  of  the  ground; 
and  after  a  month  and  twenty-seven  days  more  (v.  14)  "  the  earth  was  dried,"  and  in  a  state 
to  be  trodden  again  by  the  foot  of  man  and  beast. 

According  to  the  statement  in  ch.  7  :  24,  and  8  :  3,  the  flood  was  at  least  a  hundred  and  fifty, 
or  possibly  (see  the  note  on  ch.  7  :  24)  a  hundred  and  ninety  days  in  attaining  its  greatest  height. 
The  subsiding  of  the  waters  occupied  about  a  hundred  and  sixty,  or  at  the  least,  a  hundred  and 
twenty  days.    So  gradual  was  the  rise  of  the  waters  and  their  fall. 

We  can  not  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  sobriety  of  the  narrative,  and  with  the  truthful 
minuteness  and  consistency  of  all  its  details. 


Traditions  of  the  Flood  are  found  among  almost  all  known  nations ;  an  evidence,  in  itself,  that 
they  had  their  origin  in  an  actual  historical  event;  for  the  same  tradition  could  not  have  sprung 
up  casually,  at  so  many  and  widely  distant  points. 

But  the  Biblical  narrative  alone  fulfills  the  required  conditions,  in  the  historical  definiteness 
and  consistency  of  its  details,  and  in  the  deep  religious  and  moral  grounds  which  it  furnishes  for 
such  an  extraordinary  interposition  of  divine  justice. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  there  are  very  great  difficulties,  not  in  the  narrative,  which  is  every- 
where clear  and  consistent  with  itself,  but  in  the  nature  of  the  case ;  and  this  might  well  be 
expected.  It  is  just  and  reasonable,  that  Christian  scholars  should  seek  to  disarm  the  objec- 
tions of  unbelievers,  by  so  interpreting  the  narrative  as  to  avoid  these  difficulties. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  narrative  does  not  necessarily  suppose  a  strictly  universal  flood,  that  is, 
a  flood  universal  to  all  the  divisions  of  the  earth.  The  horizon  of  the  writer,  it  is  suggested,  is 
to  him  the  natural  boundary  of  "  the  whole  heavens"  of  which  he  speaks.  This  undoubtedly  is 
the  manner  of  the  Holy  Scriptures;  and  there  is  no  valid  objection  to  such  an  interpretation. 
Nor  was  it  necessary,  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  divine  purpose,  that  the  flood  should 
extend  beyond  the  region  occupied  by  living  animals,  or  perhaps  beyond  the  region  occupied 
by  man. 

It  is  supposed,  therefore,  that  the  flood  covered  only  such  a  portion  of  the  earth,  not  large 
in  extent,  as  was  already  inhabited  by  man,  and  consequently  reached  only  such  of  the  brute 
creation,  and  those  mostly  domestic  animals,  as  were  in  his  immediate  neighborhood ;  the  words 
"  all  flesh,"  "  all  in  whose  nostrils  was  the  breath  of  life,"  referring  to  those  within  the  writer's 
sphere  of  view.  On  these  suppositions  (and  they  can  not  be  proved  to  be  absolutely  inconsist- 
ent with  the  narrative)  the  difficulties  inherent  in  the  nature  of  the  case  are  greatly  lessened, 
and  perhaps  wholly  removed. 

But  it  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  them  with  the  narrative.  Nor  do  we  rightly  estimate  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  case,  unless  we  bear  in  mind  that  the  course  of  nature  was  then,  in  many  respects, 
different  from  what  we  now  observe.  It  is  sufficient  to  refer  to  the  age  of  man.  The  laws  which 
have  governed  the  multiplication  of  animals,  in  species  and  varieties,  are  not  yet  fully  determ- 
ined;  nor  can  it  be  said,  with  any  certainty,  how  many  existed  in  the  time  of  the  Flood.  The 
water  on  the  earth's  surface,  as  is  well  known,  would,  if  evenly  distributed  over  it  at  a  uniform 
depth,  more  than  cover  its  highest  elevations.  In  the  geological  history  of  the  earth,  its  conti- 
nents, with  their  loftiest  mountains,  have  been  more  than  once  submerged  beneath  the  water3 
of  the  ocean;  and  though,  in  the  process  if  cooling  through  many  ages,  the  crust  of  the  earth 
had  acquired  greater  stability  before  it  became  the  abode  of  man,  yet  since  then  great  changes 
of  level  in  the  continents  and  in  the  bed  of  the  ocean  are  known  to  have  taken  place,  and  such 
changes  are  even  now  going  on,  though  at  a  very  gradual  rate.  When  we  consider  how  very 
slight  is  the  elevation  of  mountain  ranges  compared  with  the  entire  mass  of  the  earth  (not  more 
than  would  be  represented  by  the  thickness  of  pasteboard  on  an  artificial  globe)  it  is  evident 
that  a  comparatively  slight  elevation  of  the  ocean  bed,  and  corresponding  depression  of  the  dry 
land,  would  suffice  to  flood  the  whole  earth. 

It  can  not  be  doubted,  of  course,  that  the  Almighty,  who  created  all  things,  and  has  all  the 
powers  of  nature  under  his  control,  was  able  to  accomplish  what  is  here  narrated;  and  that 

36 


GENESIS.  Chap.  vm. 


is  16  ^nc[  q.0(j  gpoke  to  Noah,  saying  :  Go  forth  from  the  ark, 
thou,  and  thy  wife,  and  thy  sons,  and  the  wives  of  thy  sons, 

17  with  thee.  Every  living  thing  that  is  with  thee,  of  all  flesh, 
of  fowl,  and  of  cattle,  and  of  every  reptile  that  creeps  upon 
the  earth,  bring  forth  with  thee,  that  they  may  breed  abund- 
antly in  the  earth,  and  be  fruitful,  and  multiply  on  the 
earth. 

18  And  Noah  went  forth,  and  his  sons,  and  his  wife,  and  the 

19  wives  of  his  sons,  with  him.  Every  living  thing,  every  rep- 
tile, every  fowl,  all  that  moves  upon  the  earth,  after  their 
families,  went  forth  from  the  ark. 

20  And  Noah  built  an  altar  to  Jehovah.  And  he  took  of  all 
clean  cattle,  and  of  every  clean  fowl,  and  offered  burnt-offer- 

21  ings  on  the  altar.  And  Jehovah  smelled  the  sweet  odor. 
And  Jehovah  said  in  his  heart :  I  will  not  again  curse  the 
ground  on  account  of  man,  for  the  device  of  the  heart  of 
man  is   evil  from   his   youth ;    and  I  will  not  again  smite 

22  every  living  thing,  as  I  have  done.  During  all  the  clays  of 
the  earth,  sowing  and  reaping,  and  cold  and  heat,  and  sum- 
mer and  winter,  and  day  and  night,  shall  not  cease. 

he  could  carry  into  effect  any  plan  he  devised  for  continuing  the  race  of  man  and  all  other 
animals.     In  what  manner  it  was  done,  is  a  lair  question  of  interpretation. 

Of  the  moral  significance  of  this  event,  in  the  world's  history,  there  can  be  no  question ;  nor 
is  it  possible  to  estimate  the  influence  of  such  a  fact,  handed  down  through  the  nations  by  tra- 
dition and  revelation.  It  has  everywhere  testified  to  the  truth,  "  There  is  a  God  that  judges  in 
the  earth  ;"  and  the  record  of  it  can  not  be  effaced  from  the  world's  literature,  or  from  the  minds 
of  men. 

VV.  20-22.  The  new  era  of  the  race  commences  mere  auspiciously  than  the  first,  with  act3 
of  piety  and  devotion,  and  with  the  solemn  recognition  of  man's  guilt,  and  of  the  atoning  sacrifice. 
On  this  is  founded  the  gracious  purpose  toward  the  new  race,  expressed  in  vv.  21,  22. 

V.  20.  The  altar,  and  burnt-offerings,  are  here  mentioned  for  the  first  time.  For  the  latter, 
compare  Lev.  ch.  1. 

V.  21.  Smelled  the  sweet  odor.  The  thought  is  expressed  under  a  physical  image.  It  was,  of 
course,  the  spiritual  significance  of  the  offering  that  made  it  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God. 

Said  in  his  heart;  purposed  within  himself.  It  is  significant  that  this  purpose,  regarding  th? 
future  of  the  race,  is  expressed  in  connection  with  Noah's  act  of  faith,  and  with  his  accepted 
offering. 

For  the  device,  etc.,  has  been  thought  to  be  the  reason  for  the  promised  forbearance ;  which 
appears,  however,  to  be  inconsistent  with  itself,  and  with  what  is  said  in  ch.  C  :  5-7.  The  words 
seem  rather  intended  to  show,  that  this  lenity  is  undeserved  forbearance  toward  man.  The  con- 
nection of  thought  is:  "I  will  not  again  curse  the  ground  on  account  of  man,'7 — for  that  only 
does  he  deserve, — "  for  the  device  of  the  heart  of  man  is  evil  from  his  youth." 

V.  22.  Sowing  and  reaping,  etc.  By  these  are  not  meant  divisions  of  the  year,  as  some  have 
regarded  them.  The  principal  occupations  on  which  men  depend  for  subsistence,  and  the  altern- 
ations of  temperature  and  of  the  seasons,  with  which  these  are  necessarily  connected,  and  of  day 
and  night,  are  specified,  in  order  to  show  that  the  course  of  nature  should  ever  after  be  regular 
and  unbroken. 

3T 


Chap,  el  GENESIS. 


And  God  blessed  Noah  and  his  sons ;  and  he  said  to 
them:  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  fill  the  earth.  And 
the  fear  of  you,  and  the  dread  of  you,  shall  be  upon  every 
beast  of  the  earth,  and  upon  every  fowl  of  the  heavens,  upon 
all  with  which  the  ground  teems,  and  upon  all  'the  fishes  of 
the  sea;  into  your  hand  are  they  given.  Every  moving 
thing  that  lives,  to  you  shall  it  be  for  food ;  as  the  green 
herb  have  I  given  you  all.  But  flesh  with  its  life,  its  blood, 
ye  shall  not  eat. 

But  also  your  blood  of  your  lives  will  I  require  ;  at  the 
hand  of  every  beast  will  I  require  it,  and  at  the  hand  of 
man ;  at  the  hand  of  each  one's  brother  will  I  require  the 
life  of  man.  He  that  sheds  the  blood  of  man,  by  man 
shall  his  blood  be  shed  ;  for  in  the  image  of  God  made  he 


Ch.  9  :  3.  Here  is  the  first  express  permission  of  the  use  of  animal  food.  That  it  was  already 
allowed  can  not  be  inferred  from  the  dominion  given  to  man  over  the  lower  animals,  nor  from 
the  keeping  of  flocks  (as  in  the  case  of  Abel,  ch.  4:2),  which  furnished  milk  and  material  for 
clothing,  and  were  offered  in  sacrifice  (ch.  4:4).  If  animal  food  was  used,  as  is  not  improbable, 
it  was  done  without  divine  permission. 

V.  4.  In  regard  to  the  blood,  there  are  two  restrictions.  In  this  verse,  the  eating  of  blood 
Is  prohibited ;  "  flesh  with  its  life,  its  blood,  ye  shall  not  eat."  For  the  ground  of  the  prohibition 
see  Lev.  17  :  11 ;  the  principle  of  life  being  contained  in  the  blood,  it  was  to  be  offered  on  the 
altar,  "  to  make  atonement  for  the  soul,"  and  was  sacred  to  this  use. 

V.  5.  But  also  ;  a  further  restriction,  in  regard  to  the  blood  of  man.  The  blood  of  beasts 
may  be  shed,  in  sacrifices,  and  for  the  use  of  their  flesh  as  food.  But  your  blood  shall  not  be 
ehed,  by  man  or  beast,  on  penalty  of  death. 

Your  blood  of  your  lives  ;  that  is,  in  which  your  life  resides,  or  with  which  it  is  connected. 

At  the  hand  of  every  beast  will  I  require  it.  Compare  Exod.  21  :  28.  Such  is  the  sacredness  of 
human  life  in  the  eye  of  God.  It  is  not  meant  that  the  beast  is  morally  guilty,  or  capable  of 
being  so  ;  but  the  sanctity  of  human  life  must  be  vindicated  by  the  death  of  its  destroyer. 

At  the  hand  of  each  one's  brother  will  I  require  the  life  of  man.  The  obvious  sense  of  the 
words  is :  For  the  life  of  every  man  I  will  hold  his  brother  man  accountable.  Here  is  an  ac- 
countability beyond  the  person  of  the  manslayer.  What  that  accountability  is,  is  expressed  in 
the  following  verse. 

V.  G.  He  that  sheds  the  blood  of  man,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed.  Such  is  the  accounta- 
bility to  which  God  holds  man  for  the  blood  of  his  fellow-man  ;  as  he  has  said  in  the  preceding 
verse,  "  at  the  hand  of  each  one's  brother  will  I  require  the  life  of  man."  The  reason  for  this 
requirement  is  added :  For  in  the  image  of  God  made  he  man.  He  that  violates  the  sacredness 
of  that  image  in  his  fellow-man,  shall  forfeit  it  in  himself. 

Unquestionably,  God  here  requires  that  the  murderer  shall  be  punished  with  death,  andhold3 
men  guilty  who  disregard  the  requirement.  If  he  intended  by  these  words  (as  they  are  some- 
times evasively  interpreted)  merely  to  predict  that  men  would,  unauthorized  and  criminally, 
put  the  murderer  to  death,  then  they  are  out  of  place  in  the  connection  with  his  own  require- 
ment in  the  preceding  verse,  and  he  follows  them  here  with  a  reason  for  the  act  ("for  in  the 
image  of  God  made  he  man")  that  has  no  force  or  pertinence. 

This  was  not  a  requirement  of  the  Jewish  law,  to  be  abolished  with  it.  It  was  made  binding 
on  all  the  races  of  men,  descendants  of  Noah,  and  has  never  been  revoked. 

38 


GENESIS.  Chap.  nc. 


7  And  you,  be  ye  fruitful,  and  multiply  ;  and  bring  forth 
abundantly  in  the  earth,  and  multiply  therein. 

8  And  God  spoke  to  Noah,  and  to  his  sons  with  him,  say- 

9  ing  :  And  I,  behold,  I  establish  my  covenant  with  you,  and 

10  with  your  seed  after  you  ;  and  with  every  living  being  that 
is  with  you,  of  the  fowl,  of  the  cattle,  and  of  every  beast  of 
the  earth  with  you  ;  of  all  that  go  forth  from  the  ark  of 

11  every  beast  of  the  earth.  And  I  establish  my  covenant  with 
you ;  and  all  flesh  shall  not  again  be  cut  off  by  the  waters 
of  a  flood,  and  there  shall  not  again  be  a  flood  to  destroy 
the  earth. 

12  And  God  said :  This  is  a  sign  of  the  covenant  which  I 
make  between  me  and  you,  and  every  living  being  that  is 

13  with  you,  for  perpetual  generations.  My  bow  I  set  in  the 
cloud,  and  it  shall  be  for  a  covenant-sign  between  me  and 

u.the  earth.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  I  bring  a  cloud 
over  the  earth,  that  the  bow  shall  be  seen  in  the   cloud. 

15  And  I  will  remember  my  covenant,  which  is  between  me 
and  you,  and  every  living  being  of  all  flesh  •  and  the  waters 

16  shall  no  more  become  a  flood  to  destroy  all  flesh.  And  the 
bow  shall  be  in  the  cloud  ;  and  I  will  see  it,  to  remember 
the  perpetual  covenant  between  God  and  every  living  being 

17  of  all  flesh  that  is  upon  the  earth.  And  God  said  to  Noah  : 
This  is  a  sign  of  the  covenant  which  I  establish  between  me 
and  all  flesh  that  is  upon  the  earth. 

18  And  the  sons  of  Noah,  who  went  forth  from  the  ark,  were 
Shem,  and  Ham,  and  Japheth.    And  Ham  was  the  father  of 

19  Canaan.  These  were  the  three  sons  of  Noah  ;  and  from 
these  was  the  whole  earth  overspread. 

20  And  Noah,  the  husbandman,  began  and  planted  a  vine- 

V.  11.     Or,  I  will  maintain  my  covenant 

V.  13.  M>j  bow  I  set  in  the  cloud.  Its  previous  occurrence  was  no  reason  why  God  should 
not  make  it  a  sign  of  liis  covenant ;  and  these  words  do  not  imply  that  it  had  never  been  seen 
before.  He  sets  Ids  boio  in  the  cloud,  whenever  it  is  seen  thee.  It  is  not  permanent  and  abid- 
ing, but  occasional ;  and  whenever  it  is  seen  in  the  cloud,  he  sets  it  there,  as  a  covenant-sign  ; 
and  the  words,  "  My  bow  I  set  in  the  cloud,*'  belong  to  every  such  appearance. 

VV.  20-23.  The  impartiality  and  truthfulness  of  the  narrative  are  shown  by  the  freedom  with 
which  it  exposes  the  faults  of  the  most  distinguished  and  highly  commended  of  the  personages 
whose  lives  it  records.  If  there  were  extenuating  circumstances  in  this  case  of  Noah,  as  there 
probably  were,  they  are  unknown  to  us,  and  it  is  useless  to  conjecture  them,    It  is  better  (aa 

39 


Chap,  el  GENESIS. 


21  yard.     Aud  he  drank  of  the  wine,  and  was  drunken ;  and  he 

22  uncovered  himself  within  his  tent.  And  Ham,  the  father  of 
Canaan,  saw  the  nakedness  of  his  father  ;  and  lie  told  it  to 

23  his  two  brothers  without.  And  Shem  and  Japheth  took  the 
mantle,  and  laid  it  on  the  shoulders  of  them  both,  and  went 
backward,  and  covered  the  nakedness  of  their  father  ;  and 
their  faces  were  backward,  and  the  nakedness  of  their  father 
they  did  not  see. 

24  And  Noah  awoke  from  his  wine  ;  and  he  knew  what  his 

25  younger  son  did  to  him.     And  he  said  : 

Cursed  be  Canaan  ; 

A  servant  of  servants  sha'll  he  be  to  his  brethren. 

26  And  he  said  : 

Blessed  be  Jehovah,  God  of  Shem  ; 
And  let  Canaan  be  servant  to  him. 

27  God  give  enlargement  to  Japheth, 
And  he  will  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem  ; 
And  let  Canaan  be  servant  to  him. 

remarked  by  Calvin)  to  leave  them  out  of  the  question,  and  to  learn  rather,  from  this  sad  record, 
how  vile  and  detestable  a  thing  is  drunkenness. 

V.  20.  Began  andplanted  a  vineyard;  either  made  this  his  first  occupation  as  a  husband- 
man, or  was  the  first  who  practiced  this  mode  of  husbandry. 

V.  23.  The  mantle;  the  large  square  garment,  worn  over  the  shoulders  and  covering  the 
whole  body.  It  was  also  used  at  night,  as  a  covering  in  sleep.  See  Ex.  22  :  26,  27,  and  Deut. 
24  :  12, 13,  where  it  should  be  rendered  mantle,  and  not  raiment.  The  definite  article  {the  mantle) 
designates  a  garment  of  a  particular  kind. 

VV.  2.3-27.  In  these  predictions  (having  the  form  of  poetry  in  the  Hebrew)  there  are  two 
divisions;  the  first  containing  the  curse  upon  Canaan,  the  second  the  blessings  on  his  two 
brothers ;  the  former,  for  greater  emphasis,  being  repeated  after  each  of  the  two  latter. 

V.  25.  Cursed  be  Canaan.  The  language  is  prophetic;  anticipating,  by  a  divinely  given 
foresight,  the  future  character  and  destiny  of  this  line  of  Ham's  posterity.  These  did  not  follow 
as  consequences  of  the  curse  here  pronounced,  but  were  prophetically  anticipate.l  by  it. 

Canaan  alone,  not  all  the  posterity  of  Ham,  is  the  subject  of  it.  See  the  list  of  his  descend- 
ants in  ch.  10  :  15-19.  It  was  among  them  that  the  worst  forms  of  idolatry  prevailed,  with  all 
its  nameless  abominations  and  horrible  atrocities,  calling  down  the  judgment  of  heaven  here 
predicted. 

V.  2G.  A  beautiful  turn  is  given  to  the  blessing  on  Shem ;  namely,  Blessed  be  Jehovah,  God 
of  Shem!  This  special  relation  to  the  Divine  Being,  with  a  1  its  inestimable  privileges,  is  thua 
indirectly  and  beautifully  summed  up,  in  a  burst  of  grateful  praise. 

V.  27.    Japheth  means  spreading  abroad,  enlargement. 

He  will  dwell.  It  is  a  question  whether  Japheth  is  meant  here  ;  or  whether  he,  the  subject  of 
this  clause,  refers  to  God,  the  subject  of  the  preceding  one. 

This  statement  of  the  question  shows,  that  one  reference  is  grammatically  as  probable  as  the 
other.  But  the  fact  that  Japheth  i<  the  object  of  blessing  here,  and  the  repetition  of  the  words, 
"  let  Caiman  be  servant  to  him,"  seem  to  favor  the  former  reference. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not,  unnatural  that  the  patriarch,  in  blessing  Japheth  with  unbounded 
enlargement,  should  revert  to  the  favored  lot  of  Shem  in  his  narrower  bounds,  and  should  there- 
fore say :  God  give  enlargrmen',  to  Japhdh  ;  and  he  w'.U  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem,— his  abiding 

40 


GENESIS.  Chap.  x. 


28  And  Noah  lived,  after  the  flood,  three  hundred  and  fifty 

29  years.     And  all  the  days  of  Noah  were  nine  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ;  and  he  died. 

1  And  these  are  the  generations  of  the  sons  of  Noah  ;  Shem, 
Ham,  and  Japheth  ;  and  to  them  were  born  sons  after  the 
flood. 

2  The  sons  of  Japheth;    Gomer,  and  Magog,  and  Madai, 

3  and  Javan,  and  Tubal,  and  Meshech,  and  Tiras.     And  the 

place,  where  he  manifests  his  presence,  will  be  there.  The  repetition,  "  let  Canaan  be  servant 
to  him,'-  is  not  strange,  since  this  belongs  essentially  to  the  blessing  pronounced  on  Shem. 

To  this  use  of  the  words,  He  will  dwell,  it  is  objected,  that  the  name  Jehovah  is  the  one  under 
which  God  holds  this  relation  to  his  people.  But  not  exclusively;  and  his  relation  to  them  is 
quite  as  often  spoken  of  under  the  more  general  name.  It  is  further  object"d,  that  God  is  said 
to  dwell  in  his  tabernacle,  on  his  holy  hill,  on  Zion  among  the  children  of  Israel,  but  never  in  the 
tents  of  Israel.  This  is  good  special  pleading,  but  no  argument.  The  idea  to  be  expressed  is, 
that  God  will  dwell  with  his  chosen  people ;  and  for  this  there  is  no  more  suitable  expression 
than  the  one  here  used. 

If  Japheth  is  understood  to  be  the  subject  of  this  clause,  then  the  words,  dicell  in  the  tents  of 
Shem,  do  not  mean  conquest  and  subjection  of  his  territory,  of  which  they  are  no  suitable  ex- 
pression, but  rather  participation  in  the  privileges  and  blessings  of  his  lot,  as  of  one  admitted 
to  his  fireside.  The  same  promise  is  expressed  under  another  form,  in  ch.  12  :  3,  and,  more 
nearly  under  the  form  here  used,  in  Isaiah  2  :  2,  3. 

Chs.  10, 11.  Third  division:  Brief  notices  of  the  general  history  of  man,  from  the  Flood  to 
the  calling  of  Abraham. 

Ch.  10.     Population  of  the  earth  by  Noah's  descendants. 

This  ancient  ethnographic  table  is  of  great  historical  value,  and  has  engaged  the  attention  of 
many  eminent  scholars.  Its  statements  are  wonderfully  comprehensive,  and  are  found  to  be 
exact  to  the  minutest  details,  so  far  as  our  knowledge  from  other  sources  enables  us  to  verify 
them.  By  its  aid  we  can  trace  satisfactorily  the  origin  of  many  different  nations,  and  their  rela- 
tion to  each  other. 

The  name  of  the  founder  of  each  race  is  usually  given;  but  occasionally  the  gentilic  name  of 
the  race  itself  (as  Jtbusite,  etc.,  v.  10  and  following),  and  with  the  Hebrew  plural  ending  (im), 
designating  the  people,  and  sometimes  also  the  country  to  which  they  gave  the  name,  as  Kitiim, 
Dodaiiim  in  v.  4,  Muraim  in  v.  6,  and  Philistim  in  v.  14. 

For  the  sake  of  uniformity  in  the  table,  the  Hebrew  plural  ending  (im)  is  retained  through- 
out, though  in  some  instances  (PltUistim,  for  example)  the  English  plural  ending  is  elsewhere 
used,  as  in  ch.  21  :  32. 

In  the  division  of  the  earth,  according  to  the  table,  the  descendants  of  Japheth  occupied  by  far 
the  largest  portion,  on  the  north  and  west;  those  of  Shem  the  middle  portion,  being  a  compara- 
tively small  tract  of  western  Asia ;  those  of  Ham  the  southern  part,  though  they  are  found  at 
some  points  of  the  tract  occupied  by  Shem's  descendants. 

VV.  2-4.  Gomer;  ancestor  of  the  Cimmerian  (properly,  Kimmerian*)  race,  whose  earliest 
known  seat  was  around  the  lake  Majotis  (Sea  of  Azof),  whence  they  passed  into  western  Asia, 
#and  middle  and  northwestern  Europe.  Traces  of  the  name  are  seen  in  the  ancient  Cimmerian 
(Kimmeiiaii)  Bosphorus,  etc.,  and  in  the  modern  Crimea.  It  is  probably  identical  with  Gimiri 
in  cuneifoim  inscriptions  of  the  age  of  Darius.  The  same  name  appears  in  the  Welsh  Kymry 
(Cymry)  unaltered;  and  in  Cimbri,  and  the  Cimbrian  Chersonese  (Denmark)  by  the  euphonio 
insertion  of  6  between  the  liquids  m  and  r,  as  in  Cambria  and  Cumber-land.  The  Celtic  races, 
which  have  overspread  so  large  a  part  of  Europe,  are  from  this  source. 

His  sons  were  Ashkenaz,  not  identified  with  certainty,  originally  in  the  neighborhood  of 

*  The  consonant  elements,  g  (and  k,  both  palatals),  m,  r,  are  the  same  in  both  words,  and 
the  k  is  represented  by  c  (originally  the  same  sound)  in  the  other  examples. 

41 


Chap.  x.  GENESIS. 


sons   of  Gomer;   Ashkenaz,    and  Biphath,   and  Togarmah. 
4  And  the  sons  of  Javan  j  Elisha,  and  Tarshish,  Kittim,  and 
6  Dodanim.     From  these  were  overspread  the  coasts  of  the 
Gentiles,  in  their  lands,  each  according  to  his  tongue,  ac- 
cording to  their  families,  in  their  nations. 

6  And  the  sons  of  Ham  ;  Cush,  and  Mizraim,  and  Phut,  and 

7  Canaan.     And  the  sons  of  Cush  :   Seba,  and  Havilah.  and 


Armenia   (Jer.  51  :  27);  Biphath,  probably  inhabiting  the   Rhipcean  (Carpathian)  mountains; 
Togarmah,  inhabitants  of  Armenia. 

Magog,  inhabitants  of  the  Caucasus  and  neighboring  regions,  the  western  Scythians;  men- 
tioned in  Ezek.  38  :  2,  as  the  people  (or  country)  of  Gog,  "  the  prince  of  Rosh,*  Meshech,  and 
Tubal." 

Madai,  the  Medes.  Modern  scientific  research  has  shown  that  this  ancient  and  powerful 
people  belonged,  both  in  physical  type  and  language.,  to  the  races  with  which  they  are  here 
classed. 

Javan;  ancestor  of  the  Ionians  (older  form,  Iaon),  to  the  Orientals  the  best  known  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Greek  race,  or  Hellenic  family.     Branches  : 

Elisha,  a  nams  that  probably  appears  in  vEolis,  a  maritime  district  of  Asia  Minor  (compare 
Ezek.  27  :  7,  properly  "coasts  of  Elisha");  Tarshish,  who  gave  the  name  to  the  earliest  settle- 
ments on  the  Mediterranean  coast  of  Spain;  Kittim  (Chittim),  a  people  of  Cyprus,  of  which  it 
became  the  name,  and  in  a  wider  sense  extended  to  the  islands  and  coasts  of  the  northern  part 
of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  including  those  of  Greece  and  Italy;  Dndanim,i  supposed  to  be  iden- 
tical with  the  Dardani  (a  not  unusual  softening  of  the  liquid  r  to  a  vowel),  inhabiting  Illyricum 
and  Troas. 

Tubal,  the  Tiberini,  in  Pontus. 

Meshech,  the  Moschi,  on  the  borders  of  Colchis  and  Armenia,  a  powerful  ancient  tribe. 
:■    Tiras ;  supposed  ancestor  of  the  Thracians. 

V.  5.  Jn  their  lands  ;  the  lands  of  which  the  Gentiles  (pagan  nations)  severally  took  pos- 
session. According  to  his  tongue,  etc.;  that  is,  in  different  nations,  according  to  their  different 
languages  and  origin. 

VV.  6,  7.  Cush.  See  the  remarks  on  ch.  2  :  13.  His  descendants  occupied  the  vast  tract 
extending  from  Assyria  through  eastern  Arabia  into  Africa.  In  Babylonia  and  adjacent  regions 
the  name  is  preserved  in  Guthah,  Chuzislan,  Cossoei,  etc.  As  a  country,  it  sometimes  denotea 
eastern  Arabia,  and  more  commonly  Ethiopia.     Branches  : 

Nimrod,  first  king  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria;  Seba,  supposed  to  have  been  the  original  name 
of  Meroe,  seat  of  an  a:icient  Ethiopian  kingdom  in  Africa;  Havilah  (see  the  remarks  on  ch. 
2  :  11  and  on  v.  29,  below);  Sablah,  probably  Sabota  (Sabbatha),  in  southern  Arabia;  Eaamah 
(properly  Raghma),  founder  of  Iihegma,  a  sea-port  town  on  the  Arabian  coast  of  the  Persian 
Gulf,  whose  sons,  Slieba$  and  Dedan,  founded  trading  colonies  in  that  quarter  (compare,  e.  g., 
Ezek.  27  :  20,  22) ;  Sabt'vha,  not  identified. 

The  other  sons  of  Ham  were  Mizraim,  Egypt ;  Phut,  not  identified  ;S  and  Canaan,  whose 
bounds  are  given  in  v.  19. 

*  As  properly  translated.    Rosh  (according  to  the  best  authorities)  is  identical  with  Bus  and 
Bussian,  and  is  the  earliest  trace  of  that  powerful  people.     "The  obliteration  of  it,  by  the • 
authorized  version,  is  one  of  the  many  remarkable  variations  of  our  version  from  the  meaning 
of  the  sacred  text  of  the  Old  Testament."— Bev.  Arthur  P.  Stanley,  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary, 
art.  Rosh. 

t  Or,  as  in  some  ancient  copies,  Bodanim,  the  Bhodians. 

$  On  the  Island  Aval,  in  the  Persian  Gulf  near  the  coast  of  Arabia,  are  the  ruins  of  an 
ancient  city  of  this  name.— Smith's  Bible  Dictionary  ;  art.  Sheba,  II. 

§  In  Jer.  46  :  9,  he  is  spoken  of  (English  Bible,  Libyans)  in  connection  with  Cush  and  Ludim 
(English  Bible,  Ethiopians  and  Lydians)  as  belonging  to  Pharaoh's  army.  It  is  inferred  that  his 
posterity  settled  in  Africa,  and  probably  on  the  south  of  Egypt. 

42 


GENESIS.  Chap.  x. 


Sabtah,   and  Raamah,   and   Sabtechak.      And  the   sons   of 
Raamah  ;  Sheba,  and  Dedan. 

8  And  Cusli  begot  Nimrod.     He  began  to  be  a  mighty  one 

9  in  the  earth.     He  was  a  mighty  hunter  before   Jehovah. 
Wherefore  it  is  said  :   As  Nimrod,  a  mighty  hunter  before 

10  Jehovah.      And  the  beginning  of  his  kingdom  was  Babel, 
and  Erech,  and  Accad,  and  Calneh,  in  the  land  of  Shinar. 

11  From  that  land  he  went  forth  to  Assyria,  and  built  Nineveh, 

12  and  Rehoboth-Ir,  and  Calah,  and  Resen  between  Nineveh 
and  Calah ;  that  is  the  great  city. 

W.  8-12.  An  important  historical  document.  Nimrod  was  of  the  second  generation  from 
Ham,  and  he  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  empires.  Here,  then,  on  the 
plains  watered  by  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,  was  the  commencement  of  empire  in  the  new 
era  of  the  race. 

The  material  used  in  building  has  served  to  perpetuate  the  remains  of  the  cities  mentioned 
in  these  verses.  The  bricks,  of  which  the  enormous  structures  were  built,  softening  and  crum- 
bling soonest  at  the  top  where  they  were  most  exposed,  fell  and  accumulated  around  the  bases 
and  sides,  till  a  shapeless  heap  was  formed,  covering  and  protecting  the  lower  parts  ;  and  these 
have  remained  uninjured  for  ages,  buried  out  of  sight  beneath  what  seemed  to  be  shapeless 
hills  of  earth.  Recent  excavations  have  brought  some  of  them  to  light ;  and  numerous  inscrip- 
tions and  pictorial  representations,  already  discovered,  reveal  much  of  the  history  of  those 
distant  ages. 
•     V.  8.    Began  to  be,  that  is,  became  ;  the  expression  denoting  his  progress  in  power. 

V.  9.  .4  mighty  hunter  ;  in  distinction  from  the  quiet  and  peaceful  occupation  of  the  herds- 
man (eh.  25  :  27).  Before  Jehovah;  in  his  view  and  estimation,  denoting  the  highest  degree  of 
any  quality  or  attainment.  He  is  identical  with  the  Orion  of  Greek  mythology,  the  mighty 
hunter  (and  also  king)  commemorated  by  the  constellation  of  that  name. 

V.  10.  Beginning  of  Itis  kingdom  ;  the  region  over  which  he  first  ruled.  This  consisted  of 
the  four  cities  here  named,  in  the  land  of  Shinar.  Recent  discoveries,  in  the  buried  remains  of 
cities  in  this  region,  make  it  evident  that  the  seat  of  empire  was  originally  in  these  cities  on  the 
lower  Euphrates,  and  that  the  more  northern  one,  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Tigris,  was  of 
much  later  date. 

Babel ;  elsewhere  rendered  Babylon,  the  Greek  form  of  the  name,  which  represents  the  city 
in  its  subsequent  enlargement  and  splendor,  and  by  which  it  is  known  in  history.  The  simple 
Hebrew  form  is  properly  retained  here,  on  account  of  a  possible  connection  with  the  tower  of 
that  name.    See  the  note  on  ch.  11  :  9. 

The  ruins  of  ancient  Babylon,  as  rebuilt  by  Nebuchadnezzar  (Dan.  4:30),  perhaps  not 
exactly  on  its  earliest  site,  are  found  near  Hillah,  a  small  town  on  the  Euphrates,  about  fifty 
miles  to  the  south  of  Bagdad. 

Erech.  It  is  believed  that  this  was  the  ancient  Orchoe,  and  that  its  site  is  indicated  by  the 
remarkable  mounds  of  Warka  (Irak,  Irka),  about  eighty  miles  to  the  south  of  the  site  of 
ancient  Babylon. 

Accad;  found  in  inscriptions  dug  from  the  buried  ruins  of  these  ancient  cities,  as  the  gentilic 
name  of  a  large  and  powerful  branch  of  the  Hamites.     See  the  note  on  ch.  11  :  28. 

Calneh.  Its  site  is  indicated  by  the  great  mounds  of  Niffer,  on  the  Euphrates,  about  sixty 
miles  further  south  than  the  site  of  ancient  Babylon. 

Shinar;  the  whole  of  the  alluvial  region  through  which  the  lower  waters  of  the  Euphrates  and 
Tigris  flow  to  the  sea,  subsequently  known  as  Chaldrea,  or  Babylonia. 

VV.  11,  12.  Nineveh;  the  capital  of  the  great  Assyrian  empire,  so  often  mentioned  in  the 
later  biblical  history  of  the  Jews. 

This  vast  city,  sixty  miles  in  circumference,  was  the  capital  of  an  empire,  which  for  more 
than  five  centuries  was  the  ruling  power  in  western  Asia.  About  the  year  625  before  Christ,  it 
•was  captured  by  the  Medes  and  Babylonians,  and  was  plundered  and  burnt.     Its  destruction 


Chap.  x.  GENESIS. 


13  And  Mizraim  begot  the  Ludim,  and  the  Anamim,  and  the 

14  Lehabiin,  and  the  Naphtuhim,  and  the  Pathrusim,  and  the 
Casluhim.  (whence  came  forth  the  Philistim)  and  the  Caph- 
torim. 

15  16  ^d  Canaan  begot  Zidon  his  first-born,  and  Heth,  and 
the     Jebusite,     and     the     Amorite,    and    the    Grirgashite, 


•was  so  complete  that  it  was  never  reoccupied,  and  in  time  all  traces  of  its  former  magnificence 
disappeared,  and  even  its  site  was  unknown.  Nothing  was  left  to  mark  the  place  of  the  proud 
city  but  immense  shapeless  mounds  of  earth,  burying  beneath  them  the  relics  of  its  former 
grandeur,  while  their  surface  was  occupied  by  scattered  huts,  or  grazing  flocks,  or  scanty  har- 
vests of  grain.  So  wonderfully  was  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  Nahum  (ch.  3  :  11),  "  Thou  shalt  be 
hidden !" 

These  ruins  are  found  on  the  east  side  of  the  Tigris,  opposite  Mosul,  about  two  hundred  and 
seventy  miles  further  north  than  the  site  of  ancient  Babylon,  occupying  an  area  sixty  miles  in 
circumference.  Excavations  have  disclosed  the  lower  portions  of  magnificent  palaces,  adorned 
with  sculptures,  the  alabaster  walls  and  flooring  covered  with  pictured  representations,  or 
written  records,  of  the  domestic  annals  and  military  conquests  of  the  empire.  Among  these  are 
numerous  verifications  of  Jewish  history,  as  recorded  in  the  Bible. 

The  sites  of  the  other  four  cities  are  supposed  to  be  indicated  by  the  principal  ruins  of  ancient 
Nineveh,  which  mark  its  circuit  in  its  widest  extension.  Galah  is  identified  with  the  great 
mound  of  Nimroud,  about  twenty  miles  south  of  Mosul. 

That  is  the  great  city;  referring  to  Nineveh. 

VV.  13, 14.  On  the  form  of  these  names,  see  the  introductory  note  to  this  chapter,  second 
paragraph. 

Ludim,  the  Lydians  of  Africa.  Compare  the  remark  onvv.  C,7,  third  paragraph,  foot-note  (§). 
Anamim;  not  identified.  Lehabim;  the  original  orthography  of  Lubim,  the  Lybians  (as  the 
name  should  be  written),  a  people  of  Africa,  and  probably  on  the  south  of  Egypt.  Compare 
Nahum  3  :  9,  and  the  foot-note  (§)  just  referred  to.  Naphtuhim,  not  satisfactorily  identified. 
Pathrusim,  inhabitants  of  Pathros  in  Egypt  (Jer.  44  :  1,  15).  It  was  probably  upper  Egypt, 
the  mother  country  of  Egypt  proper.  Compare  Ezek.  29  :  14  (properly,  the  land  oft'teir  nativity, 
origin).  Casluhim,  a  people  of  Egypt,  as  inferred  from  the  connection;  supposed  by  some  to 
have  been  the  same  as  the  Colchians,  who  are  said  by  ancient  writers  to  have  been  a  colony 
from  Egypt. 

Philistim.  The  name  means  emigrants ;  and  their  migration  is  spoken  of  here,  and  in  Dent. 
2  :  23  (under  the  name  Caphtorim),  Jer.  47  :  4,  and  Am.  9  :  7.  The  importance  of  this  event 
may  be  inferred  from  the  passage  last  quoted,  where  it  is  compared  with  the  deliverance  of 
Israel  from  Egyptian  bondage.  This  migration  must  have  been  very  early,  as  they  held  their 
possessions  in  Palestine  in  the  time  of  Abraham  (Gen.  21  :  32,  34). 

Elsewhere,  as  in  Amos  9  :  7,  and  Jer.  47  :  4  (compare  Deut.  2  :  23),  they  are  said  to  have  come 
from  Caphtor.  Hence  there  is  some  probability  in  the  suggestion,  that  this  parenthetic  clause 
may  have  been  accidentally  transposed,  and  that  it  properly  belongs  after  Caphtorim.  But  as 
there  is  no  evidence  of  such  a  transposition,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  more  than  one 
migration  took  place,  either  from  different  original  points,  or  in  passing  over  different  countries. 
Of  this  there  is  another  indication  in  the  different  names  by  which  different  divisions  of  them  are 
designated,  as  Cherethites  in  Zeph.  2  :  5,  and  1  Sam.  30  :  14,  compared  with  v.  10. 

Giphtorim  ;  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  inhabitants  of  Crete,  in  favor  of  which  is  the 
designation  of  the  Philistines,  or  a  part  of  them,  by  Chcrethim,  Cretans.  See  the  preceding  par- 
agraph. But  later  investigations  seem  to  establish  the  fact,  that  Caphtor  (allied  to  the  ancient 
Egyptian  name  of  Coptos)  was  in  upper  Egypt;  and  that  the  Cherethim  were  a  neighboring  and 
kindred  people,  who  formed  settlements  on  the  island  of  Crete,  and  probably  also  on  the  coast 
of  Palestine.* 

VV.  15-20.     Canaan.    The  country  to  which  he  gave  the  name  was  the  tract  lying  between 

*  A  full  discussion  of  this  interesting  topic,  for  which  there  is  not  space  here,  may  be  found  in 
the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  8th  ed.,  art.  ^Egypt.vol.  viii.,  p.  419,  and  (by  the  same  writer)  in 
Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Caphtor. 

44 


GENESIS.  Chap.  x. 


17  and     the     Hivite,     and      the     Arkite,     and     the     Smite, 

18  and  the  Arvadite,  and  the  Zemarite,  and  the  Hamathite ; 
and  afterward  were  the  families  of  the  Canaanites  spread 

19  abroad.  And  the  border  of  the  Canaanites  was  from  Zidon, 
as  thou  goest  to  Gerar,  unto  Gaza  ;  as  thou  goest  to  Sodom 

20  and  Gomorrah  and  Admah  and  Zeboim,  unto  Lasha.  These 
are  the  sons  of  Ham,  according  to  their  families,  according 
to  their  tongues,  in  their  lands,  in  their  nations. 

21  And  to  Shem,  father  of  all  the  sons  of  Eber,  eldest  brother 

the  Mediterranean  Sea  on  the  west,  and  the  river  Jordan  and  Dead  Sea  on  the  east,  extending 
from  Zidon  on  the  north  as  far  as  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Dead  Sea.     Branches  : 

Zidon  (as  it  should  be  written,  as  in  ch.  49  :  13,  Josh.  11  :  8,  19  :  28;  Judges  1  :  31,  etc.)  name 
of  the  celebrated  city  of  Phoenicia,  now  Saida,  on  the  northern  boundary  of  this  tract. 

Helh,  ancestor  of  the  Hittites,  who  occupied  the  country  around  Hebron,  to  the  south  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  among  whom  Abraham  dwelt  for  a  time  (ch.  23  :  4,  19).  They  were  therefore  of  the 
race  of  Ham,  and  not  of  the  "  country"  or  "  kindred"  of  Abraham  and  Isaac,  as  intimated  in  ch. 
21  :  3,  4,  and  28  :  1,  2. 

Jebusiles,  in  and  around  Jerusalem ;  Amoriles,  on  the  east  and  west  coasts  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
and  east  side  of  the  Jordan;  Girgasites,  westward  from  the  Jordan  (Josh.  24  :  11),  but  their 
position  is  not  further  determined  ;  invites,  chiefly  at  the  base  of  Mount  Hermon  and  in  the 
valleys  of  Lebanon,  found,  at  one  period,  at  Shechem,  ch.  34  :  2,  compare  also  Josh.  9  :  7, 17, 
and  11  :  1);  Ark'Jes,  at  the  base  of  Mount  Lebanon;  Smiles,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  dis- 
trict of  Mount  Lebanon;  Arvadites,  on  the  Phoenician  island  Aradus  (now  Iiuad),  compare 
Ezek.  27  :  8,  11;  Zemarites,  traced  in  the  local  name  Zemaraim,  Josh.  18  :  22,  and  2  Chron. 
13  :  4  ;  Haraa  -kites,  inhabitants  of  Hamath,  chief  city  of  upper  Syria,  on  the  Oiontes. 

V.  18.  Spread  abroad ;  over  the  territory  of  which  the  bounds  are  given  in  the  following 
verse.  Or  t  ie  meaning  may  be,  that  afterward  they  spread  abroad  beyond  their  original 
bounds  (given  in  the  next  verse),  not  only  in  Palestine,  but  in  remote  regions,  settled  by  Phoe- 
nician colonists. 

V.  19.  As  thou  goest  to  Gerar;  that  is,  on  the  way  to,  or  in  the  direction  of  Gerar,  which  was 
the  most  southern  city  of  Palestine,  and  near  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  The  meaning  is,  that  the 
territory  extended,  on  the  western  side,  from  Zidon  southward  to  Gaza.  In  a  similar  manner 
the  boundary  on  the  eastern  side  is  then  given,  namely,  as  thou  goest  to  Sodom,  Gomorrah, 
Admah,  and  Zeboim  (that  is,  by  the  route  of  those  cities),  as  far  as  to  Lasha,*  at  the  head 
waters  of  the  Jordan. 

This  description  comes  to  us,  as  is  shown  by  its  terms,  from  a  time  anterior  to  the  ca'astrophe 
in  which  the  ci:ies  of  the  plain  perished.     (Ch.  19  :  24,  25;  Deut.  29  :  23.) 

V.  20.     Compare  the  remark  on  v.  5. 

V.  21.     Father  of  all  the  sons  of  Eber;  namely,  in  both  branches  of  his  descendants. 

In  the  family  of  Eber  occurred  the  division  of  the  land  by  his  descendants  (v.  25);  one  branch 
remaining  in  the  northern  section,  and  the  other  occupying  the  southern.  The  latter  are  enu- 
merated in  this  table,  vv.  20-30;  the  former  in  the  table  given  in  the  next  chapter,  vv.  1S-2G, 
continuing  the  line  of  descent  in  that  branch  to  Abraham. 

In  these  words,  therefore,  attention  is  directed  to  the  fact,  that  these  widely  separated  branches 
have  a  common  ancestor  in  Shem ;  that  he  is  father  of  all  the  sons  of  Eber,  and  not  of  those  only 
who  bear  his  name,  in  the  line  of  Abraham  and  his  descendants. 

Eldest  broOher  of  Japheth  ;  that  is,  the  elder  of  his  two  brothers. 

This  agrees  with  the  three  other  statements  in  regard  to  the  relative  ages  of  these  sons  of 
Noah.  It  appears  from  ch.  5  :  32,  that  the  oldest  was  born  when  Noah  was  five  hundred  years 
old.     Two  years  after  this  Shem  was  born ;  for  he  was  a  hundred  years  old  two  years  alter  the 

*  Probably  (as  suggested  by  Dean  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine ,  p.  288)  the  same  as  Laish, 
called  also  Leshem  in  Josh.  19  :  47,  to  which  the  name  Dan  was  given  after  its  capture  by  the 
Danites,  as  there  related. 

45 


Chap.  x.  GENESIS. 


22  of  Japheth,  to  him  also  were  children  born.     The  sons  of 
Shem  ;     Elam    and  Asshur,   and  Arphaxad,  and  Lud,  and 

23  Aram.     And  the  sons  of  Aram ;  Uz,  and  Hul,  and  Gether, 

24  and  Mash.     And  Arphaxad  begot  Shalah  ;  and  Shalah  be- 

25  got  Eber.     And  to  Eber  were  born  two  sons.     The  name  of 
one  was  Peleg,  for  in  his  days  the  land  was  divided ;  and 

26  the  name  of  his  brother  was  Joktan.     And  Joktan  begot 

V.  25.     Or,  the  earth  was  divided 

Flood  (ch.  11  :  10),  consequently  in  the  six  hundred  and  third  year  of  Noah  (ch.  7: 11,  and  8: 13). 
As  Ham  is  called  "  his  younger  son"  (ch.  9  :  21),  he  must  have  been  the  youngest  of  the  three. 

In  the  table  Ham  is  placed  before  Shem,  apparently  on  account  of  the  historical  precedence  of 
his  immediate  posterity,  the  earliest  kingdoms  having  been  founded  by  them  (vv.  6-12).  There 
is  a  reason,  therefore,  for  stating  here  their  actual  relation  in  point  of  age. 

VV.  22-21.  Elam  gave  name  to  a  tract  extending  northward  from  the  Persian  Gulf  on  the 
east  of  the  Tigris,  called  by  the  ancient  Greek  geographers  Susiana.  The  name  is  preserved  in 
Elymais.  Asshur  gave  name  to  Assyria.  Arphaxad,  supposed  to  be  traced  in  the  ancient 
name  Arrapachitis,  a  province  of  Assyria ;  Lud,  ancestor  of  the  Asiatic  Lydians,  on  the  western 
coast  of  Asia  Minor.  Aram  gave  name  to  the  tract  on  the  northeast  of  Palestine,  comprehending 
ancient  Syria  and  Mesopotamia. 

VV.  23,  24.  Uz  gave  name  to  a  tract  of  country  (land  of  Uz)  in  northern  Arabia,  bordering 
on  Babylonia  on  the  east,  and  Idumaia  and  Palestine  on  the  west ;  Hid  is  recognized,  most  prob- 
ably, in  the  district  (Huleh)  round  the  bases  of  Lebanon,  north  of  lake  Merom;  Gether,  not 
identified ;  Mash,  recognized  in  Mount  Masius,  part  of  the  mountainous  ridge  which  separated 
Armenia  from  Mesopotamia,  between  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates;  Shalah,  not  identified. 

V.  25.  Eber;  ancestor  of  the  Hebrews*  whose  dwelling  was  beyond  (on  the  east  side  of)  the 
river  Euphrates.  See  the  note  on  ch.  14  :  13.  With  his  two  sons  originated  the  great  division  of 
the  line  of  Shem  into  the  Abrahamio  and  Arabic  races.  This  being  the  most  important  occur, 
rence  in  the  history  of  Shem's  posterity,  it  is  for  that  reason  specially  commemorated. 

Peleg  means  division ;  a  name  given  him,  because  in  his  time  occurred  the  division  of  the 
tract  occupied  by  Shem's  descendants,  between  his  branch  of  the  family  and  that  of  his  brother 
Joktan,  who  migrated  into  the  neighboring  region  of  Arabia. 

Some  translate  as  in  the  margin,  the  earth  was  divided,-]-  and  suppose  that  the  dispersion  spoken 
of  in  ch.  11  :  8,  9,  is  meant.     But  the  other  view  is  the  more  probable  one. 

VV.  26-29.  The  descendants  of  Joktan  peopled  southern  Arabia,  Arabia  Felix,  the  rich  prov- 
ince of  Yemen,  in  its  ancient  extent.  Their  colonization  of  this  tract  is  clearly  established  by 
the  various  traces  they  have  left  of  their  occupation  of  it,  though  some  of  the  names  here  men- 
tioned are  not  found  among  Arabic  names  in  this  region,  and  others  are  not  yet  fully  identified. 

Almodad  is  not  yet  traced  in  the  name  of  any  place  or  people ;  Sheleph  is  recognized  in  the 
name  of  the  district  Sulaf  (Selfia,  or  Selef),  and  in  that  of  the  tribe  Shelif  (or  Shulaf) ;  Hazar- 
maveth  is  preserved  almost  letter  for  letter  in  the  Arabic  orthography  of  the  name  Hadramawt, 
as  commonly  written  in  English ;  Jerah,  and  Hadoram,  not  identified ;  TJzal  is  found  in  Awzal 
(the  Hebrew  and  Arabic  names  being  the  same),  the  ancient  name  of  the  capital  of  Yemen; 
Diklah,  not  certainly  identified;  perhaps  found  in  DakalaJ  (Hebrew  Diklah) ;  Obal  is  not  iden- 
tified, nor  is  Abimael  satisfactorily  determined;  Sheba  is  recognized  in  the  celebrated  kingdom 

*  This  word  would  regularly  be  written  Ebreio,  according  to  the  analogy  of  other  proper  names 
in  the  English  Bible,  having  the  same  initial  letter  in  the  original  Hebrew. 

t  In  Hebrew,  as  In  other  languages,  the  word  meaning  earth  is  often  applied  to  some  particu- 
lar division  of  its  surface,  a  country  ;  as  in  v.  11  of  this  chapter,  "  out  of  that  land,"  and  in  vv. 
5,  20,  31,  "  in  their  lands,"  and  ch.  12  :  1,  "  go  from  thy  land,  ...  to  the  land  which  I  will 
show  thee." 

X  The  reader  should  observe  that  in  all  these  ancient  names  vowels  are  of  no  account ;  serving 
only  to  facilitate  the  utterance  of  the  consonants,  which  are  the  body  and  substance  of  the  word, 
and  varying  greatly  with  accidental  influences. 

46 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xl 


27  Almodad,  and  Sheleph,  and  Hazarmaveth,  and  Jerah,  and 

28  Hadoram,  and  Uzal,  and  Diklah,  and  Obal,  and  Abimael, 

29  and  Sheba,  and  Ophir,  and  Havilah,  and  Jobab.     All  these 

30  were  sons  of  Joktan.     And  their  dwelling  was  from  Mesha, 

31  as  thou  goest  to  Sephar,  a  mountain  of  the  East.  These 
are  the  sons  of  Shem,  according  to  their  families,  accord- 
ing to  their  tongues,  in  their  lands,  according  to  their  na- 
tions. 

32  These  are  the  families  of  the  sons  of  Noah,  according  to 
'  their  generations,  in  their  nations.     And  from  these  were 

the  nations  spread  abroad  in  the  earth,  after  the  flood. 

1  And  the   whole   earth  was    of  one    speech   and   of  one 
language. 

2  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  they  journeyed  eastward,  that 
.they  found  a  plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar  ;  and  they  dwelt 

3  there.     And  they  said  one  to  another:  Come,  let  us  make 

of  that  name  often  mentioned  in  the  Bible  (1  Kings  10  :  1 ;  Vs.  72  :  10);  Ophir,  not  otherwise 
identified  ;*  Havilah,  see  the  remarks  on  ch.  2  :  11  and  13.  The  Arabian  Havilah  is  supposed  to 
be  recognized  in  Khawlan,  a  district  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Yemen;  Jobab,  not  yet  iden- 
tified with  any  Arabic  name  in  this  region. 

V.  30.  Mesha  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  western,  and  Sephar  the  eastern  limit  of  their 
original  settlements,  as  their  occupation  of  the  country  is  thought  to  have  advanced  from  the 
west  eastward.  The  former  is  not  clearly  ascertained.  The  latter  is  recognized  in  Zafar  (writ- 
ten also  Dafar),  the  ancient  celebrated  seaport  of  the  Himyarite  kingdom,  lying  at  the  base  of  a 
high  mountain. f 

Of  the  East ;  namely,  of  Arabia,  as  lying  eastward  from  Palestine  (ch.  25  :  6  ;  Job  1  :  3). 

V.  31.    Compare  the  remark  on  v.  5. 

V.  32.  According  to  their  generations  ;  that  is,  according  to  their  different  lines  of  descent 
from  one  or  the  other  of  Noah's  three  sons,  and  their  immediate  offspring. 

Ch.  11  :  1-11.     The  Dispersion. 

V.  1.  Of  one  speech  and  of  one  language.  By  speech  is  meant  utterance,  or  manner  of  speak- 
ing, and  by  language  the  words  uttered  and  their  various  forms.    Compare  the  remark  on  v.  7. 

V.  2.  As  they  journeyed  eastward;  with  reference  to  the  general  bearing  of  their  course,  if 
they  followed,  as  they  would  be  likely  to  do,  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  or  of  the  Tigris.  Viewed 
from  the  writer's  position  on  the  west,  from  which  they  were  receding,  this  direction  of  their 
course,  taking  them  further  to  the  east,  would  naturally  be  expressed  by  him  as  in  the  text. 

Land  of  Shinar.    See  the  remark  on  ch.  10  :  10. 

V.  3.  Bitumen,  a  mineral  pitch,  very  abundant  in  these  plains.  It  bubbles  up  from  crevices 
in  the  earth,  and  collects  in  pools  or  pits  on  the  surface.  It  is  much  used  for  building,  for  coat- 
ing boats,  etc. 

*  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  original  settlement  was  in  this  region.  But  it  is  still  an 
open  question  whether  the  Ophir  spoken  of  in  other  passages  (1  Kings  9  :  28 ;  10;  11)  is  to  be 
sought  in  Arabia,  or  whether  it  was  situated,  as  maintained  by  eminent  geographers,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Indus.  A  full  summary  of  the  discussions  on  this  interesting  question  is  accessible 
to  the  English  reader,  in  Smith's  Bihle  Dictionary,  art.  Ophir. 

t  As  stated  by  Wellsted,  Travels  in  Arabia,  Book  II.,  ch.  24;  another  point  of  identification 
with  "  Sephar,  a  mountain  of  the  East." 

4T 


Chap.  xi.  GENESIS. 


bricks,  and  burn  them  thoroughly.      And   they  had  brick 
for  stone,  and  bitumen  had  they  for  mortar. 

4  And  they  said:  Come,  let  us  build  us  a  city,  and  a  tower, 
and  let  its  top  be  in  the  heavens ;  and  let  us  make  us  a 
name,  lest  we  be  scattered  abroad  on  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth. 

5  And  Jehovah  came  down  to  see  the  city  and  the  tower, 

6  which  the  sons  of  men  were  building.  And  Jehovah  said  : 
Behold,  there  is  one  people,  and  they  have  all  one  speech  ; 
and  this  they  begin  to  do.     And  now  there  will  not  be  with- 

7  held  from  them  anything  which  they  purpose  to  do.  Come, 
let  us  go  down,  and  there  confound  their  speech,  that  they 
may  not  understand  one  another's  speech. 

8  And  Jehovah  scattered  them  abroad  from  thence  on  the 
face  of  all  the  earth.     And  they  ceased  to  build  the  city. 


V.  4.  A  cily  and  a  tower;  that  is,  a  city  including  within  its  area  a  tower,  or  citadel.  Thi3 
was  to  be  of  immense  height,  impressing  the  beholder  by  its  magnificence,  and  also  furnishing  a 
final  retreat  from  an  invading  force. 

Name  is  used  her,e  as  in  1  Kings  4  :  31  (Hebrew  text,  5  :  11);  properly,  his  name  was  in  aU 
the  nations  around.  To  "  make  one's  self  a  name,"  is  to  get  renown.  Compare  Isaiah  63  :  12, 
14;  Jer.  32  :  20. 

Lest  ice  be  scattered  abroad.  The  object  was  concentration  and  power.  To  this  the  renown 
of  a  great  name  would  contribute  ;  and  that  would-be  secured  by  building  a  vast  and  celebrated 
city,  for  their  common  residence. 

It  matters  not  whether  these  were  the  motives  and  objects  of  the  whole  body  of  those  engaged 
in  the  work,  or  only  of  the  leaders,  who  controlled  and  directed  them.  In  either  case,  this 
undertaking,  originating  in  the  desire  of  worldly  renown,  and  of  concentrated  power,  was 
directly  opposed  to  the  divine  will  (ch.  9  :  1,  7),  and  was  signally  rebuked  and  frustrated. 

V.  5.  Came  down,  etc.;  expressed  after  our  mode  of  conception,  as  is  often  the  case  in 
speaking  of  ths  divine  intervention  in  human  affairs.  The  meaning  is,  that  he  manifested  his 
presence,  and  his  cognizance  of  their  acts,  by  the  expression  of  his  displeasure  which  ensued. 

V.  6.  This  t'.iey  begin  to  do  ;  implying,  that  this  is  only  the  beginning,  and  that  they  will  go 
on  to  what  is  still  worse,  as  indicated  in  the  following  words. 

V.  7.  Confound  their  speech.  By  speech  is  here  meant,  oral  expression  of  thought,  the  utter- 
ance of  thought  in  spoken  words.  The  Hebrew  word,  here  as  in  v.  1,  is  lip  ("  let  us  confound 
their  lip"),  by  metonymy  for  what  the  lip  utters.  This,  while  it  naturally  means  simply  "  utter- 
ance, or  manner  of  speaking,"  when  (as  in  v.  1)  it  is  expressly  distinguished  from  "language," 
as  naturally  expresses  what  is  uttered  by  the  lips,  when  no  such  distinction  is  made. 

The  use  of  this  word  furnishes  no  ground  for  the  theories,  suggested  by  some  writers,  as  to 
the  manner  in  which  the  confusion  of  tongues  was  effected.* 

V.  8.  Scatttredthnn  abroad ;  thus  frustrating  the  first  organized  resistance  to  his  expressed 
will  (ch.  9  :  1,  7),  and  m  iking  the  renewal  of  it  impossible. 

TJiey  ceased  to  build  the  c it  j;  that  is,  for  the  time,  and  on  the  scale  and  for  the  purpose  at 
first  intended.  The  divine  purpose  was  accomplished  by  the  interruption  of  the  work  and  the 
means  through  which  it  was  effected,  though  the  building  of  the  city  was  afterward  resumed 
(ch.  10  :  10). 

*  Namely,  in  the  primary  sounds,  or  vocal  elements  of  speech,  as  supposed  by  some;  or  in 
the  forms  and  grammatical  structure  of  language,  as  with  still  less  reason  is  assumed  by  others. 

48 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xi. 


9  Therefore  is  its  name  called  Babel ;  because  there  Jehovah 
confounded  the  speech  of  all  the  earth  ;  and  from  thence 
did  Jehovah  scatter  them  abroad  on  the  face  of  all  the 
earth. 

10  These  are  the  generations  of  Shem.  Shem  was  a  hun- 
dred years  old,  and  begot  Arphaxad,  two  years  after  the 

V.  9.  Babel;  that  is,  confusion.  The  simple  Hebrew  name  is  retained  here  (see  the  note  on 
ch.  10  :  10,  second  paragraph)  on  account  of  its  etymological  import,  and  its  historical  connec- 
tion with  the  tower  of  the  same  name. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  the  existing  ruins  of  Babylon,  and,  as  there  is  some  reason  to  suppose, 
within  the  limits  of  its  ancient  walls  in  their  widest  extent,  is  the  remarkable  ruin  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's temple;  "a  solitary  pile,  rising  suddenly  from  the  vast  expanse  of  the  desert,"  a 
hundred  and  fifty-three  feet  in  height,  and  four  hundred  feet  square  at  the  base.*  It  is  known 
among  the  native  tribes  as  Birs  Nimrud  (Tower  of  Nimrod).  An  inscription,  in  the  cuneiform 
character,  shows  that  it  was  built  by  Nebuchadnezzar  (about  six  hundred  years  before  Christ), 
on  the  site,  and  on  the  "foundation  platform,"  of  a  more  ancient  temple,  "  built  by  a  former 
king,"  but  left  unfinished. 

Dr.  Oppert,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  among  cuneiform  scholars,  thinks  he  finds  proof,  in 
his  reading  of  the  inscription,!  that  the  site  of  this  temple,  and  even  its  foundation,  was  the  tra- 
ditional one  of  the  tower  of  the  dispersion.  The  tradition  can  not  be  regarded  as  incredible  in 
itself,  when  we  consider  how  perfectly  the  bases  of  fabrics,  composed  of  such  mateiials,  are 
concealed  and  protected  for  ages  by  the  crumbling  masses  of  the  superstructure,  from  which 
they  are  now  exhumed  uninjured.  But  it  is  proper  to  add,  that  the  reading  of  these  inscrip- 
tions is  still  uncertain  in  many  points;  and  that  the  statement  on  which  Dr.  Oppert  rests  his 
conclusion  is  differently  read  by  other  eminent  scholars. 

Confounded  the  speech  of all  the  earth.  The  diversities  in  the  languages  of  the  earth  present 
a  problem,  which  philosophy  has  in  vain  labored  to  solve.  Comparative  philology  has  shown, 
however,  that  many  different  languages  are  grouped  together  by  common  affinities,  as  branches 
of  the  same  family,  all  having  the  same  original  language  for  their  common  parent.  Notwith- 
standing the  great  number  and  diversity  of  languages,  they  may  all  be  traced  to  a  very  few 
original  parent  tongues.  The  difficulty  lies  in  the  essential  and  irreconcilable  diversity  between 
these  several  parent  tongues,  not  the  remotest  affinities  existing  to  indicate  a  common  origin, 
or  any  historical  relation  ;  a  problem  for  which  speculative  philosophy  can  find  no  solution.^ 

VV.  10  and  following.    The  narrative  now  takes  up  the  line  of  Shem  to  Abraham. 

It  has  been  shown,  in  the  history  already  given  of  man's  repeated  and  general  apostacy,  that 

*  "  The  mound  presents  the  appearance  rather  of  a  natural  hill,  crowned  by  a  ruin,  than  that 
of  a  structure  built  entirely  by  th<j  hand  of  man.  Thirty-seven  feet  of  solid  brickwork,  looking 
almo>t  like  a  tower,  stand  exposed  at  the  too;  while  below  this,  the  original  building  is  almost 
entirely  concealed  beneath  the  masses  of  rubbish  which  have  crumbled  down  from  the  upper 
portion." — liawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii..  App.  iii.,  Essay  iv.,  13. 

t  Communicated  by  him  to  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary  (appendix  to  art.  "Tongues,  confusion 
of"),  and  to  the  Journal  An iatique,  1857,  ix.,  x. 

|  Srhelling,  in  his  Philosophy  of  Mythology,  has  well  said:  "  Humanity  can  not  have  left  that 
condition,  in  which  there  was  no  distinction  of  peoples,  but  only  of  races,  without  a  spiritual 
crisis,  which  must  have  been  of  the  deepest  significance,  must  have  taken  place  in  the  basis  of 
the  human  consciousness  itself.  ....  For  we  can  not  conceive  of  different  peoples  with- 
out different  languages;  and  language  is  something  spiritual.  If  difference  of  peoples  is  not 
something  that  was  from  the  first,  but  is  something  that  has  arisen,  then  must  this  also  hold 

true  of  the  difference  of  languages Here  we  fall  in  with  the  oldest  account  of  the 

human  race,  the  Mosaic  writings;  toward  which  so  many  are  disinclined,  only  because  they 
know  not  what  to  do  with  it,  can  neither  understand  nor  use  it.  Genesis  pats  the  rise  of  peoples 
in  connection  with  the  rise  of  different  languages;  but  in  such  a  way,  that  the  confounding  of 
language  is  the  cause,  the  rise  of  peoples  the  effect."— Einleitunj  in  d'.e  Fhilosophie  der 
Mythologie. 

D  49 


Chap.  xi.  GENESIS. 


11  flood.      And  Shem  lived,    after  he    begot  Arphaxad,   five 
hundred  years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters. 

12  And  Arphaxad  lived  thirty-five  years,  and  begot  Shalah. 

13  And  Arphaxad  lived,  after  he  begot  Shalah,  four  hundred 
and  three  years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters. 

u  is   ^nd  ghaiah  lived  thirty  years,   and   begot  Eber.     And 

Shalah  lived,  after  he  begot  Eber,  four  hundred  and  three 

years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters. 
16  17    And  Eber  lived  thirty-four  years,  and  begot  Peleg.    And 

Eber  lived,  after  he  begot  Peleg,  four  hundred  and  thirty 

years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters. 
18  19    And  Peleg   lived    thirty  years,    and   begot   Reu.     And 

Peleg  lived,  after  he  begot  Reu,  two  hundred  and   nine 

years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters. 
20  21    And  Reu  lived  thirty-two  years,  and  begot  Serug.     And 

Pveu  lived,   after  he   begot  Serug,  two  hundred  and  seven 

years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters. 
22  23    And  Serug  lived  thirty  years,   and  begot  Nahor.      And 

Serug  lived,  after  he  begot  Nahor,  two  hundred  years,  and 

begot  sons  and  daughters. 


without  special  interposition  on  the  part  of  God  none  could  enjoy,  or  would  seek,  his  favor. 
This  having  been  fully  proved,  the  general  history  of  the  human  race  is  pursued  no  further* 

The  calling  of  Abraham  (ch.  12),  for  which  these  verses  prepare  the  way,  commences  the  new 
era  in  the  sacred  history  ;  and  henceforth,  the  development  of  God's  purpose  of  redemption,  in 
connection  with  the  history  of  Abraham's  posterity,  is  the  great  theme  of  the  Scriptures. 

At  the  time  of  this  call,  the  knowledge  and  worship  of  the  true  God  seem  to  have  become 
nearly  extinct;  see  Josh.  24  :  2.  The  case  of  Melchisedek  (ch.  14  :  18),  shows  that  some  re- 
mained faithful.    There  is  no  ground  to  suppose  that  Abraham  himself  was  ever  an  idolater. f 

*  Aubcrlen,  in  his  defense  of  the  Scriptures  as  a  divine  revelation,  has  the  following  just 
thoughts  on  the  historical  value  of  these  eleven  chapters  :  "  If  we  had  not  the  first  eleven  chap- 
ters of  Genesis,  if  we  had,  on  the  beginnings  of  the  world  and  of  humanity,  only  the  myths  of 
the  heathen,  or  the  speculations  of  philosophers,  or  the  observations  of  naturalists,  we  should 
be  in  the  profoundest  darkness  concerning  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  world  and  of  man.  It 
is  with  these  chapters  on  the  one  side,  as  with  the  prophecies  of  Scripture  on  the  other.  There 
we  get  the  true  light  on  the  first,  here  on  the  last  things;  there  on  the  foundation  principles, 
here  on  the  ultimate  tendencies  of  history;  there  on  the  first  cause,  here  on  the  object  of  the 
world ;  without  which  a  universal  history,  or  a  philosophy  of  history,  is  impossible.  But 
prophecy  itself  also  has  its  roots  in  these  chapters,  on  which  all  later  revelation  plants  itself. 
Happily,  these  primeval  records  of. our  race,  far  more  widely  than  we  are  aware,  have  pene- 
trated our  whole  mode  of  thinking,  and  sway  even  those  who  believe  they  must  reject  the  his- 
torical character  of  these  accounts.  These  chapters  maintain  the  consciousness,  in  humanity, 
of  its  own  God-related  nature,  of  its  original  nobility  and  its  eternal  destination."— Auberlen, 
die  fjoVUehs  Oifenbarung,  p.  127. 

t  Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  31  :  53,  from  which  some  infer  that  the  God  of  Nahor  and  of 
Terah  was  not  the  same  as  the  God  of  Abraham. 

50 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xl 


u       And  Nahor  lived  twenty-nine  years,  and  begot  Terah. 

25  And  Nahor  lived,  after  he  begot  Terah,  a  hundred  and 
nineteen  years,  and  begot  sons  and  daughters. 

26  And  Terah  lived  seventy  years,  and  begot  Abram,  Nahor, 
and  Haran. 

27  And  these  are  the  generations   of  Terah.     Terah  begot 

28  Abram,  Nahor,  and  Haran  ;  and  Haran  begot  Lot.  And 
Haran  died  before  Terah  his  father,  in  the  land  of  his  birth, 

29  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldseans.  And  Abram  and  Nahor  took  to 
themselves  wives.  The  name  of  the  wife  of  Abram  was 
Sarai ;   and  the   name   of  the  wife   of  Nahor  was   Milcah, 

V.  26.    Abram.    See  the  reason  for  the  change  of  this  name  to  Abraham,  in  ch.  17  :  5. 

VV.  27-30.  This  brief  account  of  Abraham's  family  connections  is  necessary,  in  order  that 
the  allusions  to  them,  in  the  succeeding  history,  may  be  understood. 

V.  28.  Ur,  the  ancient  capital  of  Chaldsea,  on  the  site  now  marked  by  the  great  mound  of 
Mugheir,  and  seat  of  the  most  celebrated  temple  of  the  Moon-God,  as  shown  by  numerous 
inscriptions  dug  out  of  the  ruins.*  These  are  about  six  miles  west  of  the  present  channel  of 
the  Euphrates,  near  its  junction  with  the  Shat-el-Hie,  and  about  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
miles  from  its  mouth. 

Ghaldaeans,  an  ancient  people,  of  Cushite  origin,  occupying  the  lower  part  of  the  alluvial 
tract  watered  by  the  Euphrates.  Their  history  has  heretofore  been  involved  in  great  ob- 
scurity; but  much  light  has  been  thrown  on  it  by  the  discovery  of  ancient  inscriptions  relating 
to  them.f 

V.  29.    Sarai.    For  the  change  of  this  name  to  Sarah,  see  the  remark  on  ch.  17  :  15. 

*  An  account  of  it,  with  a  drawing  of  the  ruins  of  the  temple,  is  given  in  Smiili's  Bible  Dic- 
tionary, art.  Ur. 

t  The  chief  points  are  contained  in  the  following  compressed  statement :  "  The  Chaldaeans 
appear  to  have  been  a  branch  of  the  great  Hamite  race  of  Akkad,  which  inhabited  Babylonia 
from  the  earliest  times.  With  this  race  originated  the  art  of  writing,  the  building  of  cities,  the 
institution  of  a  religious  system,  and  the  cultivation  of  all  science,  and  of  astronomy  in  particu- 
lar. The  language  of  these  Akkad  presents  affinities  with  the  African  dialects  on  the  one  side, 
and  with  the  Turanian,  or  those  of  High  Asia,  on  the  other.  It  stands  somewhat  in  the  same 
relation  as  the  Egyptian  to  the  Semitic  languages,  belonging  as  it  would  seem  to  the  great 
parent  stock  from  which  th«  trunk-stream  of  the  Semitic  tongues  also  sprung,  before  there  was 
a  ramification  of  Semitic  dialects,  and  before  Semitism  even  had  hecome  subject  to  its  peculiar 
organization  and  developments.  In  this  primitive  Akkadian  tongue,  which  I  have  been  accus- 
tomed generally  to  denominate  Scythic,  from  its  near  connection  with  the  Scythic  dialect  of 
Persia,  were  preserved  all  the  scientific  treatises  known  to  the  Babylonians,  long  after  the  Se- 
mitic element  had  become  predominant  in  the  land — it  was  in  fact  the  language  of  science  in 
the  East,  as  the  Latin  was  in  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages.  When  Semitic  tribes  established 
an  empire  in  Assyria  in  the  thirteenth  century  B.  C.  they  adopted  the  alphabet  of  the  Akkad, 
and  with  certain  modifications  applied  it  to  their  own  language  ;  but  during  the  seven  centuries 
which  followed  of  Semitic  dominion  at  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  this  Assyrian  language  was 
merely  used  for  historical  records  and  official  documents.  The  mythological,  astronomical,  and 
other  scientific  tablets  found  at  Nineveh  are  exclusively  in  the  Akkadian  language,  and  are  thus 
shown  to  belong  to  a  priest-class,  exactly  answering  to  the  Chaldasans  of  profane  history  and  of 
the  Book  of  Daniel.  We  thus  see  how  it  i3  that  the  Chaldrcans  (taken  generally  for  the  Akkad) 
are  spoken  of  in  the  prophetical  books  of  Scripture  as  composing  the  armies  of  the  Semitic 
kings  of  Babylon  and  as  the  general  inhabitants  of  the  country,  while  in  other  authorities  they 
are  distinguished  as  philosophers,  astronomers,  and  magicians,  as,  in  fact,  the  special  deposita- 
ries of  science."— Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  Book  i.,  ch.  181,  foot-note. 

51 


Chap.  xh.  GENESIS. 


daughter  of  Haran,  the  father  of  Milcah,  and  the  father  of 

80  Iscah.     And  Sarai  was  barren  ;  she  had  no  child. 

81  And  Terah  took  Abram  his  son,  and  Lot,  son  of  Haran, 
his  son's  son,  and  Sarai  his  daughter-in-law,  wife  of  Abram 
his  son  ;  and  they  went  forth  with  them  from  Ur  of  the 
Chaldseans,  to  go  to  the  land  of  Canaan.     And  they  came 

82  to  Haran,  and  dwelt  there.  And  the  clays  of  Terah  were 
two  hundred  and  five  years.     And  Terah  died  in  Haran. 

1        And  Jehovah  said  to  Abram  :  Go   from  thy  land,   and 

V.  1.     Or,  from  thy  land,  and  from  thy  birthplace 

V.  31.  Terah  took  Abram  his  son,  etc.  It  seems,  from  the  form  of  expression,  that  Terah 
took  the  lead  in  this  movement;  bat  we  are  not  told  by  what  motive  he  was  induced  to  do  it. 
On  reaching  Haran,  he  seems,  for  some  cause,  to  have  abandoned  the  design  of  proceeding 
further.  Abraham  received  direction  (ch.  12  :  1)  to  leave  his  kindred  and  his  father's  house, 
probably  because  they  could  not  be  prevailed  on  to  accompany  him. 

Nahor  either  preceded  or  followed  them  as  far  as  Haran,  and  remained  there.  This  is  evident 
from  ch.  24  :  10,  29,  and  27  :  43 ;  a  comparison  of  the  last  two  passages  showing  that  "  the  city 
of  Nahor,"  mentioned  in  the  first,  was  Haran. 

They  irent  forth  with  them.  The  form  of  the  expression,  in  the  Hebrew  as  well  as  in  English, 
leaves  it  uncertain  who  are  meant  by  "  they,"  and  who  are  meant  by  "  them."  Probably  by 
"  them"  are  meant  Terah  and  Abram,  the  two  who  are  most  prominently  before  the  mind,  and 
"  they"  is  an  indefinite  expression  for  all  who  accompanied  them. 

Haran,  a  city  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Mesopotamia.*  It  is  not  on  the  direct  route  from 
the  supposed  site  of  Ur  (see  the  note  on  v.  28)  to  the  land  of  Canaan.  But  the  necessities  of 
pasturage  for  their  flocks  and  herds  required  a  deviation  from  the  shortest  and  most  direct 
route.  The  ancient  caravan  route  took  this  direction  for  a  similar  reason,  as  does  the  modern 
one  by  .the  neighboring  city  of'Edessa. 

And  dwell  there.  This  shows  that  they  made  it  their  abode  for  some  length  of  time,  and  not 
a  mere  resting-place  in  their  journey  onward. 

V.  32.  It  is  said  in  Acts  7  :  4,  that  Abraham  went  from  Haran  "after  his  father  was  dead." 
But  if  Terah  was  seventy  years  old  (v.  26)  at  the  birth  of  Abraham,  his  age  when  Abraham  left 
Haran  (at  the  ago  of  seventy-five,  ch.  12  :  4)  would  have  been  a  hundred  and  forty-five  years; 
and  hence,  according  to  the  statement  made  in  this  verse,  he  would  have  lived  sixty  years  after 
Abraham  went  from  Haran. 

It  is  not  uncommon,  however,  to  mention  sons,  not  in  the  order  of  birth,  but  of  precedence 
in  history,  as  in  the  case  of  Noah's  sons.  See  the  remarks  on  ch.  10  :  21,  the  third  and  fourth 
paragraphs. 

Abraham  may,  therefore,  have  been  a  younger  son  of  Terah,  but  named  first  in  the  genealogy 
on  account  of  his  important  relation  to  Hebrew  history. 

Chs.  12—50.     Fourth  division  :  History  of  the  Patriarchs. 

Chs.  12  :  1—25  :  10.  First  part  of  the  fourth  division;  Calling  of  Abraham  (12  :  1-3),  and 
his  subsequent  history. 

See  the  note  on  ch.  11  :  vv.  11  and  following,  the  third  paragraph. 

VT.  1-3.  Said  to  Abram  J  etc.  This  took  place  in  Haran ;  as  is  evident  from  v.  4,  where  it 
is  said  that  Abram  "  went  forth  from  Haran"  in  obedience  to  this  command. 

*  See  Dr.  Hackett's  addition  to  the  art.  Haran,  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  American  edition. 

t  The  rendering,  "had  said"  (common  English  version)  is  false  translation,  the  Hebrew  form 
never  having  that  sense.  It  is  a  mere  makeshift,  to  avoid  an  imaginary  discrepancy  with  the 
Btatement  in  Acts  7  :  2,  3.  See  the  remarks  in  the  text  (second  paragraph),  and  Dr.  Hackett's 
Commentary  on  Acts,  7  :  3,  4. 

52 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xn. 


from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house,  to  the  land 

2  that  I  will  show  thee.  And  I  will  make  thee  a  great  na- 
tion ;  and  I  will  bless  thee,  and  will  make  thy  name  great, 

3  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing.  And  I  will  bless  them  that 
bless  thee,  and.  him  that  curses  thee  will  I  curse.  And  in 
thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blest. 

4  And  Abram  went,  as  Jehovah  said  to  him ;  and  Lot 
went  with  him.  And  Abram  was  seventy-five  years  old, 
when  he  went  forth  from  Haran. 

6  And  Abram  took  Sarai  his  wife,  and  Lot  his  brother's 
son,  and  all  their  substance  that  they  had  gathered,  and 
the  persons  that  they  had  gotten  in  Haran,  and  they  went 


It  is  stated  in  Acts  7  :  3,  that  this  was  said  to  Abram  "  before  lie  dwelt  in  Haran."'  So  it  was, 
without  doubt ;  and  it  was  the  cause  of  his  leaving  "  Ur  of  the  Chaldoeans  to  go  to  the  land  of 
Canaan,"  as  related  in  ch.  11  :  31.  In  rehearsing  the  command,  given  on  both  occasions, 
Stephen  uses  the  well-known  form  in  which  it  was  recorded  here. 

From  tliy  land  and  from  thy  kindred.  He  was  still  in  his  own  land  (compare  cb.  24  :  4,  10, 
where  Haran  is  meant,  as  has  been  shown  in  the  note  on  ch.  11  :  31,  second  paragraph)  and 
among  his  kindred.  These  he  must  forsake,  and  with  them  his  "father's  house,"  to  go  to  a 
strange  land,  of  which  he  has  no  other  intimation  than  the  words,  "which  I  will  show  thee." 
So  tvue  is  it,  that  "he  went  forth"  (as  said  by  the  apostle,  Heb.  11  :  8)  "  not  knowing  whither 
he  went." 

V.  3.  Families.  By  family  is  meant  here,  and  often  elsewhere,  a  people,  or  nation,  regarded 
as  one  great  family  descended  from  a  common  parent.  So  the  Jewish  people,  as  the  family  of 
Abraham,  is  called  in  Micah  2  :  3,  against  this  family  do  J  devise  an  evil,  and  in  Jer.  8  :  3,  the 
residue  of  (hem  thai  remain  of  this  evil  family. 

In  thee  ;  or,  as  expressed  in  chs.  22  :  18,  20  :  4,  in  thy  seed.  In  no  sense  can  it  be  pretended 
that  the  nations  of  the  earth  have  been  blest  in  Abraham  and  his  seed,  except  as  the  deposita- 
ries and  guardians  of  that  divine  knowledge  which  through  them  has  become  the  heritage  of  the 
nations,  and  as  the  chosen  race  of  whom  came  the  Messiah,  the  Redeemer  of  mankind.  In  this 
sense  the  promise,  w  mderful  in  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  made,  has  been  still 
more  wonderfully  fulfilled.* 

V.  5.  Persons  ;  as  the  Hebrew  word  is  properly  rendered  in  the  common  English  version,  in 
ch.  14  :  21,  give  me  the  persons,  and  the  subs'.ance  take  to  thyself,  and  ch.  3G  :  G,  all  the  persons 
of  his  house,  ami  his  cattle,  and  in  many  other  passages. 

Persona  that  they  had  gotten;  namely,  the  servants  they  had  acquired,  by  birth  cr  otherwise, 
during  their  residence  in  Haran. 

That  Abraham  was  the  recognized  head  of  a  numerous  body  of  retainers,  holding  various 
relations  to  him,  is  evident  from  ch.  14  :  13-16;  where  it  is  seen  that  he  could  bring  into  tho 
field  a  body  of  servants  trained  to  the  use  of  arms,  and  with  them  was  able  to  inteicept  and 
overcome  the  four  victorious  kings.  The  relation  was  one  of  mutual  dependence;  service,  on 
the  one  side,  being  rewarded  hy  protection  and  provision  and  the  equal  administration  of  justice 
on  the  other.  For  Abraham  was  a  "  prince"  (ch.  23  :  C),  a  man  of  princely  rank  and  authority, 
as  well  as  a  master;  and  in  no  other  relation  could  his  dependents  obtain  the  like  protection, 
as  well  as  equal  and  exact  justice  in  their  dealings  with  one  another.  In  the  then  existing 
state  of  pocioty  and  government,  the  weak  had  no  security  but  in  the  protection  of  a  prosper- 
ous and  powerful  leader. 

*  "In  the  concluding  words  of  the  promise  is  expressed  the  utmost  limit  of  all  history;  fer 
beyond  the'blessing  of  all  nations  there  can  be  nothing  more." — Baumgarten,  Theolog.  Com- 
mentar  Zum  Pentateuch,  I.,  170. 

53 


Chap.  xii.  GENESIS. 


forth  to  go  to  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  and  they  came  into  the 

land  of  Canaan. 
6       And  Abram  passed  through  the   land   to  the   place    of 

Shechem,  to  the  oak  of  Moreh.      And  the  Canaanite  was 
v  then  in  the  land.      And  Jehovah  appeared  to  Abram,  and 

said  :  To   thy  seed   will   I  give   this   land.      And  he  built 

there  an  altar  to  Jehovah  who  appeared  to  him. 

8  And  he  moved  onward  from  thence  to  the  mountain  on 
the  east  of  Bethel,  and  stretched  his  tent,  with  Bethel  on 
the  west  and  Ha-ai  on  the  east.  And  he  built  there  an 
altar  to  Jehovah,  and  called  on  the  name  of  Jehovah. 

9  And  Abram  continued  removing  toward  the  south 
country. 

V.  6.     Or,  to  the  station  of  Shechem 

'  W.  6,  7.  Passed  through  the  land.  From  Haran  he  would  enter  Palestine  on  the  north ;  and 
he  would  therefore  pass  through  the  land  to  Shechem,  nearly  in  the  geographical  centre  of  the 
country.  It  lies  in  a  quiet  sheltered  valley,  between  mount  Gerizim  on  the  south  and  mount 
Ebal  on  the  north,  opening  westward  on  a  distant  view  of  the  sea.  In  this  "  paradise  of  the 
Holy  Land"  was  his  first  halting-place.  Here,  in  the  seclusion  and  repose  of  this  lovely  valley, 
Jehovah  appears  to  him;  and  in  the  words,  "to  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land,"  he  is  assured 
that  this  is  the  goal  of  his  journeyings.  Compare  ch.  37  :  12,  foot-note. 

Oak  of  Moreh  ;  probably  its  traditional  name,  from  an  earlier  occupant  of  the  ground.  It  is 
alluded  to  again  in  Deut.  11  :  30  (oaks  of  Moreh) ,  and  probably  in  Gen.  35  :  4,  and  Josh.  24  :  26 ; 
perhaps  also  in  Judges  9  :  G  (oak  of  the  pillar),  compare  Josh.  24  :  26,  27.* 

The  Canaanite  was  then  in  the  land.  The  possession  of  the  land  was,  therefore,  prospective 
and  not  immediate.  It  was  "  by  faith  he  sojourned  in  the  land  of  promise,  as  a  foreign  land" 
(Heb.  11  :  9). 

To  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land.  He  does  not  say  "  to  thee ;"  for  "  he  gave  him  no  inheritance 
in  it,  not  even  a  foot-breadth"  (Acts  7:5). 

Rebuilt  there  an  altar  to  Jehovah.  On  the  spot  where  Jehovah  appeared  to  him,  he  com- 
memorates the  event  by  erecting  an  altar  for  his  worship.  The  memory  of  this  great  event  was 
perpetuated;  and  the  place  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  sanctuary  for  many  generations. 
See  the  references  in  the  second  paragraph  of  the  remarks  on  these  verses,  and  especially  Josh. 
24 :  2G. 

The  attentive  reader  of  Abraham's  history  will  note  the  interesting  fact,  that  wherever  he 
fixed  his  abode  he  built  an  altar  to  Jehovah.  (See  v.  8,  and  13  :  4,  18.)  Every  place  where  he 
dwelt  became  a  temple  of  the  Eternal  God.  Thus  his  whole  life  was  a  witness  to  that  faith  in 
the  One  God,  which  is  the  groundwork  of  the  civilization  of  our  age,  and  is  diffusing  its  blessings 
around  the  world. 

V.  8.  Ha-ai,  as  the  name  should  be  written.  It  signifies  the  ruins,  and  was  doubtless  given 
to  the  place  after  its  destruction  by  Joshua,  who  "  burnt  it,  and  made  it  a  heap  forever"  (Josh. 
8  :  28).  It  was  most  natural  to  speak  of  a  place  by  the  name  under  which  it  was  known  in  the 
writer's  time,  though  it  may  have  borne  a  different  one  at  the  date  of  the  transaction  narrated. 

Called  on  the  name  of  Jehovah.    See  the  remarks  on  ch.  4  :  26. 

V.  9.     Continued  removing  ;  as  the  necessities  of  pasturage  required.     His  flocks  and  herds 

*  Some  think  it  is  also  mentioned  in  Judges  9  :  37,  under  the  name  Oak  of  the  magicians  (or, 
Oak  of  enchantments) ,  in  allusion  to  the  ear-rings,  supposed  to  be  amulets,  buried  by  Jacob 
"  under  the  oak  which  is  by  Shechem"  (Gen.  35  :  4). 

54 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xn. 


10  And  there  was  a  famine  in  the  land.  And  Abram  went 
down  to  Egypt  to  sojourn  there  ;  for  the  famine  was  griev- 

11  ous  in  the  land.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  drew  near  to 
enter  into  Egypt,  that  he  said  to  Sarai  his  wife  :  Behold 
now,  I  know  that  thou  art  a  woman  of  fair  countenance. 

12  And  it  will  come  to  pass,  that  the  Egyptians  will  see  thee, 
and   will   say  :  This   is   his   wife.      And  they  will  slay  me, 

13  and  will   let   thee  live.      Say,   I    pray   thee,   thou    art    my 

having  consumed  the  sustenance  in  the  vicinity  of  his  encampment,  he  removed  to  another 
unoccupied  region,  and  there  remained  till  that  in  like  manner  was  exhausted,  and  then  moved 
onward  again. 

The  south  country;  the  southern  border  of  Canaan.*  Compare  ch.  13  :  1,  where  it  said  that 
"Abraham  went  up  from  Egypt  to  the  south  country." 

W.  10-20.     Abraham's  sojourn  in  Egypt. 

V.  10.  There  xoas  a  famine  in  the  land;  a  not  unfrequent  occurrence,  in  a  country  depend- 
ing for  its  fertility  on  the  local  rains.  Egypt,  on  the  contrary,  was  the  granary  of  the  ancient 
world;  its  fertility  depending  on  the  annual  overflow  of  the  Nile,  fed  by  the  periodical  rains  at 
its  sources  in  the  highlands. 

V.  11.  Of  fair  countenance.  SaraTi  was  now  about  sixty-five  years  old  (compare  ch.  17  :  17, 
with  12  :  4),  an  age  at  which  some  women,  in  modern  times,  have  been  in  the  maturity  of  their 
personal  charms.  What  is  said  of  her  here  is  not  at  all  strange,  considering  the  age  to  which 
she  lived  (a  hundred  and  twenty-seven  years,  ch.  23  :  1),  and  the  highly  favorable  circumstances 
of  her  life,  passed  in  the  open  country,  and  in  rural  occupations  and  enjoyments. 

V.  13.  Thou  art  my  sister.  We  learn  from  ch.  20  :  12  that  this  was  tru3  ;  probably  in  the 
same  sense  that  Lot,  Abraham's  nephew,  is  called  his  brother  (14  :  14),  being  his  brother's  son; 
for  that  she  was  not  the  daughter  of  Terah,  Abraham's  father,  is  evident  from  ch.  11  :  31,  where 
she  is  called  his  daughter-in-law.  It  has  been  generally  supposed,  and  with  great  probability, 
that  Sarai  was  the  same  as  Iscah  (11  :  29),  and  was  therefore  the  half  niece  of  Abraham. t 

We  also  learn  from  ch.  20  :  13,  that  from  the  beginning  of  their  wanderings  it  was  understood 
between  Abraham  and  Sarah  (compare  v.  5  of  that  chapter)  that  she  should  pass  for  his  sister. 
This  precaution  was  innocent  and  harmless  in  itself;  and  Calvin's  censure  is  too  severe  when  he 
says  (on  ch.  20  :  12)  that  this  dissembling,  by  revealing  only  part  of  the  truth,  was  a  falsehood 
in  fact,  though  not  in  words.  The  censure  would  be  just,  if  the  object  had  been  to  deceive 
others  to  their  injury.  But  the  object  was  personal  safety;  and  the  injury  to  others  arose  from 
their  own  violation  of  the  duties  of  hospitality  and  the  rights  of  strangers.  Persons  traveling, 
or  sojourning,  where  the  full  knowledge  of  their  relations  exposes  them  to  danger,  are  not  bound 
to  disclo-e  all  that  concerns  themselves,  and  in  no  way  concerns  others.  This  principle  is  often 
acted  on,  and  without  any  violation  of  moral  duty;  but  whether  wisely  and  prudently,  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case  must  decide. 

Abraham  consulted  her  honor,  no  less  than  his  own  safety,  in  adopting  this  expedient.  For  if 
she  had  been  deprived  of  him,  her  only  protector,  her  fate  would  have  been  worse  than  his. 
But  while  he  passed  for  her  brother,  none  but  honorable  proposals  would  be  made  to  her  as  hia 
sister;  and  these  could  be  evaded,  or  postponed,  till  they  should  remove  to  a  place  of  safety. 
That  she  should  be  taken  without  consent,  by  royal  authority,  was  a  contingency  not  likely  to 
be  foreseen. 

*  So  the  common  English  version  properly  renders  the  word  in  chs.  20  :  1  and  24  :  G2 ;  and 
should  have  rendered  it  so  in  ch.  13  :  1,  where  it  represents  Abraham  as  going  up  from  Egypt 
"  into  the  south." 

t  Terah  had  two  wives  (compare  the  statement  in  ch.  20  :  12,  "  she  is  the  daughter  of  my 
father,  but  not  the  daughter  of  my  mother"),  and  "it  may  be  that  by  one  of  them  he  had 
Haran,  and  by  the  other  Nahor  and  Abram  ;  and  that  Nahor  and  Abram  married  the  daughters 
of  their  older  half-brother  Haran,  Nahor  the  elder  and  Abram  the  younger  niece."— Dt-IUzsch, 
Comm.  i'tber  die  Genesis,  3te  Ausg.,  p.  327. 

55 


Chap.  xni.  GENESIS. 


sister,  that  it  may  be  well  with  me  for  thy  sake ;  and  my 
soul  shall  live  because  of  thee. 
u       And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Abram  was  come  into  Egypt, 
that  the  Egyptians  saw  the  woman  that  she  was  very  fair. 

15  And  the  princes  of  Pharaoh  saw  her,  and  they  commended 
her  to  Pharaoh ;  and  the  woman  was  taken  to  the  house 

16  of  Pharaoh.  And  he  showed  kindness  to  Abram  for  her 
sake  ;  and  he  had  flocks  and  herds,  and  he-asses,  and  men- 
servants  and  maid-servants,  and  she- asses,  and  camels. 

17  And  Jehovah  smote  Pharaoh  and  his  house  with  great 

18  plagues,  on  account  of  Sarai,  Abram's  wife.  And  Pha- 
raoh called  Abram,  and  said  :  What  is  this  that  thou 
hast  done  to  me  ?     Why  didst  thou  not  tell  me  that  she  is 

19  thy  wife  ?  Why  saidst  thou,  She  is  my  sister,  so  that  I 
should  take  her  to  me  for  a  wife  ?  Now,  therefore,  be- 
hold thy  wife  ;  take  her  and  go. 

20  And  Pharaoh  commanded  men  concerning  him  ;  and  they 
brought  him  on  his  way,  him  and  his  wife,  and  all  that  he 
had. 

1  And  Abram  went  up  from  Egypt,  he,  and  his  wife,  and 
all  that  he  had,  and  Lot  with  him,  to  the  south  country. 

V.  13.     Or,  may  be  well  with  me  through  thy  means 

V.  15.  Pharaoh,  the  royal  title  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  kings,  meaning  the  Sun,  as  the 
earthly  representative  of  the  god  of  that  name.  In  the  Bible,  it  commonly  stands  for  the  king 
of  Egypt;  sometimes  followed  by  the  proper  name  of  the  individual  who  bore  the  title  (as 
Pharaoh  Necho,  2  Kings  23  :  20,  Pharaoh  Hophra,  Jer.  44  :  30),  and  sometimes  with  the  addition 
king  of  Egypt,  as  in  1  Kings  3  :  1. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Pharaoh  of  this  passage  was  not  a  native  prince,  but  was 
one  of  the  Shepherd  kings  (Hyksos),  who  ruled  over  lower  Egypt,  bordering  on  Canaan,  from 
about  2080  years  before  Christ,  when  the  country  was  overrun  by  the  incursion  of  an  Arabian 
race,  known  in  history  as  the  Shepherds.  The  territory  was  nearly  contiguous,  therefore,  to  the 
"  south  country"  (v.  9),  and  the  language  of  the  dominant  races  was  the  same  in  both.  On  the 
eastern  frontier,  toward  Canaan,  was  a  royal  residence  for  a  portion  of  the  year,  the  Zoan 
mentioned  in  Num.  13  :  22,  and  referred  to  in  Psalm  78  :  12,  43,  as  the  scene  of  the  plagues  ia 
Egypt. 

VV.  17-10.  That  this  divine  interposition  was  timely  and  effectual,  for  the  protection  of  Sarah, 
is  evident  from  all  the  circumstances  narrated.  The  dread  it  inspired  was  also  effectual  for 
Abraham's  safety;  and  he  was  dismissed,  with  reproaches  indeed,  but  also  with  an  honorable 
safe-conduct. 

V.  20.  Brought  him  on  his  way;  that  is,  accompanied  him,  as  an  honorable  escort  and  safe- 
guard. The  same  Hebrew  word  is  used  in  ch.  18  :  16,  where  it  is  said,  that  Abraham  "went 
■with  them,  to  bring  them  on  their  way." 

Ch.  13  :  1-13.    Return  of  Abraham  and  Lot  from  Egypt.    Division  of  the  land  between  them. 

56 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xhl 


,2  And  Abram  was  very  rich  in  cattle,  in  silver,  and  in  gold. 

8  And  he  went  on  in  his  journeyings  from  the  south  country, 

and  unto  Bethel,  unto  the  place  where  his  tent  was  at  the 

4  beginning,  between  Bethel  and  Ha-ai,  to  the  place  of  the 
altar  which  he  made  there  at  the  first.  And  there  Abram 
called  on  the  name  of  Jehovah. 

5  And  Lot  also,  who  went  with  Abram,   had  flocks,   and 

6  herds,  and  tents.  And  the  land  could  not  bear  them,  that 
they  might  dwell  together  ;  for  their  substance  was  great, 
and  they  could  not  dwell  together. 

7  And  there  was  strife  between  the  herdsmen  of  Abram's 
cattle,  and  the  herdsmen  of  Lot's  cattle.     And  the  Canaan- 

8  ite  and  the  Perizzite  were  then  dwelling  in  the  land.  And 
Abram  said  to  Lot :  Let  there  be  no  strife,  I  pray  thee, 
between  me  and  thee,  and  between  my  herdsmen  and  thy 

9  herdsmen  ;  for  we  are  brethren.  Is  not  the  whole  land 
before  thee  ?  Separate  thyself,  I  pray  thee,  from  me  ;  if 
to  the  left-hand,  then  I  will  go  to  the  right ;  and  if  to  the 
right-hand,  then  I  will  go  to  the  left. 

10       And  Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  all  the  plain  of  the 

V.  3.     Went  on  in  Ids  journeyings.     See  the  remark  on  ch.  12  :  9. 

W.  G,  7.  The  land  could  not  bear  them,  that  they  might  dwell  together.  It  did  not  furnish  pas- 
turage sufficient  for  their  numerous  flocks  and  herds.  Hence  the  strife  between  their  herdsmen 
for  the  occupation  of  the  pasture-grounds  ;  a  strife  that  was  rendered  perilous  to  their  common 
safety  by  the  presence  of  the  Canaanite  and  the  Perizzite  in  the  land.  Or  this  allusion  may  be 
made  to  them,  to  show  that  the  resources  of  the  land  were  yet  further  restricted  by  their  prior 
occupancy  of  it. 

The  Perizzites  are  not  included  in  the  table  in  ch.  10,  and  hence  we  have  no  light  on  their 
origin,  and  their  relation  to  other  occupants  of  Canaan. 

V.  9.  As  the  proposal  for  a  separation  came  from  Abraham,  it  was  proper,  as  well  as  disin- 
terested, that  he  should  give  his  younger  and  less  prosperous  kinsman  his  choice  in  the  proposed 
division  of  the  country.  It  was  equally  proper  that  Lot  should  accept  the  generous  offer  of  hia 
more  favored  kinsman. 

V.  10  describes  the  appearance  of  the  valley-plain  of  the  Jordan,  as  it  was  before  the  great 
catastrophe  in  which  the  five  cities  perished  (ch.  19  :  24-29).  From  the  lofty  highlands  on  tho 
west  *  more  than  three  thousand  feet  above  the  plain  of  the  valley,  the  eye  could  trace  tho 
stream  of  the  Jordan,  winding  its  way  through  meadow-lands,  and  groves,  and  cultivated  fields, 
and  losing  itself  in  a  beautiful  lake  bordered  by  rich  plains,  that  furnished  subsistence  to  the 
thronged  cities  that  dotted  their  surface.  The  great  depression  of  the  valley-plain,  mure  than 
thirteen  hundred  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  gave  to  this  tract  a  tropical 
climate  ;  and  being  all  "  a  well-watered  region,"  the  more  intense  the  heat  the  more  active  and 
vigorous  was  every  form  of  vegetation.  To  the  eye  that  beheld  this  scene,  stretching  far  to 
the  north  and  south,  it  seemed  "  like  the  garden  of  Jehovah,  like  the  land  of  Egypt.-' 

*  The  "  mountain  on  the  cast  of  Bethel"  (compare  v.  3  with  ch.  12  :  S)  commands  such  a 
view.    See  Stanley's  Sinai  and  Palestine,  p.  217. 

51 


Chap.  xiv.  GENESIS. 


Jordan,  that  it  was  all  a  well-watered  region  (before  Jeho- 
vah destroyed  Sodom  and  Gomorrah)  like  the  garden  of 
Jehovah,  'like  the  land   of  Egypt,  as  thou  goest  to  Zoar. 

11  And  Lot  chose  for  himself  all  the  plain  of  the  Jordan. 
And  Lot  removed  eastward,  and  they  separated  themselves, 

12  each  from  his  brother.  Abram  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  Lot  dwelt  in  the  cities  of  the  plain,  and  pitched  his 
tent  as  far  as  Sodom. 

13  And  the  men  of  Sodom  were  wicked,  and  sinners  against 
Jehovah  exceedingly. 

14  And  Jehovah  said  to  Abram,  after  Lot  separated  -himself 
from  him  :  Lift  up  now  thine  eyes  and  look,  from  the  place 
where  thou   art,  northward,  and  southward,  and  eastward, 

15  and  westward.      For  the  whole  land  which  thou  seest,  to 
1G  thee  will  I  give  it,   and  to  thy  seed  forever.      And  I  will 

make  thy  seed  as  the  dust  of  the  earth  ;  so  that  if  a  man 
can  number  the  dust  of  the  earth,  thy  seed  also  shall  be 

17  numbered.  Arise,  walk  through  the  land,  in  its  length 
and  in  its  breadth  ;  for  to  thee  will  I  give  it. 

18  And  Abram  removed  his  tent,  and  came  and  dwelt  by 
the  oaks  of  Mamre,  which  are  in  Hebron.  And  he  built 
there  an  altar  to  Jehovah. 

1       And  it  came  to  pass,  in  the   clays  of  Amraphel  king  of 

As  thou  goest  to  Zoar;  namely,  in  that  direction,  and  by  the  way  of  the  river  valley,  leading 
to  that  city.     Zoar  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Sodom  (ch.  10  :  20,  22). 

V.  12.     Canaan.     See  the  note  on  ch.  10  :  15-20. 

Lot  dwelt  in  the  cities  of  the  plain  ;  namely,  in  one  or  another  as  he  removed  from  place  to 
place  for  convenience  of  pasturage  ;  and  pitched  his  tent  (as  he  changed  from  time  to  time  his 
place  of  encampment)  as  far  to  the  souili  as  Sodom.  For  the  position  of  Sodom  and  the  neigh- 
boring cities,  see  the  remarks  on  ch.  19. 

VV.  14-18.    Renewal  of  the  promise  to  Abraham. 

Abraham  is  now  separated  from  all  earthly  relations.  He  stands  by  himself,  the  representa- 
tive of  his  race  in  the  Laud  destined  for  them.  No  obstacle  now  remains  to  the  full  recognition 
of  him,  on  behalf  of  his  seed,  as  its  sole  proprietor.  In  terms  of  singular  beauty  and  expressive- 
ness, he  is  told  to  view  the  land  in  all  its  extent,  to  move  at  will  through  its  length  and  breadth, 
for  to  him  and  his  seed  it  is  given  forever.  He  had  already  been  promised  that  he  should  become 
a  great  nation  ;  but  now,  his  seed  shall  be  as  the  dust  of  the  earth,  without  number  ! 

V.  18.  Oaks  of  Mamre.  We  learn  from  ch.  14  :  13,  that  Mamre  was  an  Amorite,  who,  with 
bis  brothers  Eslicol  and  Aner  (mentioned  again  in  v.  24)  was  "in  covenant  with  Abram." 
The  word  occurs  in  chs.  23  :  17,  10;  25  :  0 ;  35  :  27;  40  :  30;  50  :  13 ;  but  only  as  the  name  of 
the  place,  which  it  received  from  him  as  its  earlier  occupant. 

Ch.  14.  Invasion  and  plunder  of  the  cities  of  the  plain ;  rescue  of  the  captives  and  their 
property  by  Abraham. 

58 


GENESIS.  Chai\  xiv. 


Shinar,  Ariocli  king  of  Ellasar,  Chedorlaomer  king  of  Elam, 

2  and  Tidal  king  of  nations,  that  they  made  war  with  Bera 
king  of  Sodom,  and  with  Birsha  king  of  Gomorrah,  Shinab 
king  of  Admah,   and  Shemeber  king  of  Zeboim,    and  the 

3  king  of  Bela  (that  is  Zoar).  All  these  joined  together  in 
the  vale  of  Siddim  (that  is  the  salt  sea). 

The  cities  of  the  plain,  after  twelve  years  of  subjection,  as  tributaries,  to  the  king  of  Elam 
(ch.  10  :  22),  threw  off  the  yoke  in  the  thirteenth  year. 

In  the  following  year,  Chedorlaomer,  king  of  Elam,  and  three  neighboring  confederate  kinga 
in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  joined  their  forces  in  a  military  expedition  against  ihe  countries 
westward,  on  the  Mediterranean  slope. 

They  entered  this  border  land  on  the  north,  and  subdued  successively  Bashan,  Ammon,  Moab, 
Edom,  Amalek,  the  Amorites  in  their  chief  city,  and  the  cities  of  the  plain.  On  their  homeward 
march,  they  were  intercepted  by  Abraham  near  the  ancient  city  of  Dan  (v.  14),  and  the  captives 
and  plunder  they  had  taken  were  recovered. 

VV.  1-3  contain  a  brief  statement  of  the  parties  to  the  conflict  described  in  vv.  8-10;  and  this 
statement  is  followed  in  vv.  4-16  by  a  full  account  of  the  cause  of  the  invasion,  and  of  its  pro- 
gress and  result. 

V.  1.    Shinar.    See  the  note  on  ch.  10  :  10. 

Ellasar;  identical  with  Larsa  (the  Greek  Larissa),  an  ancient  city  of  "Lower  Babylonia  or 
Chaldasa,  nearly  midway  between  Ur  (ch.  11  :  28)  and  Erech  (ch.  10  :  10).  It  was  one  of  the 
primitive  capitals,  as  proved  by  (he  inscriptions,  and  probably  older  than  Babylon.*  Compare 
the  remark  on  ch.  10  :  10,  the  first  and  fourth  paiagraphs. 

Elam.     See  the  note  on  ch.  10  :  22. 

Chedorlaomer.  A  very  high  authority,  on  such  subjects, f  regards  it  as  most  probable,  that 
Chedor'aomer  was  identical  with  a  leader  of  Chaldaean  Elamites,  who  took  possession  of  Baby- 
lonia (perhaps  after  the  date  of  the  transactions  here  narrated)  and  founded  the  second  Hamite 
or  Chaldnean  dynasty,  early  in  the  twentieth  century  before  Christ.  His  title  is  understood  to 
mean,  Ravager  of  the  West. 

King  of  nations.  The  word  nations  naturally  suggests  mixed  races,  united  under  one  chief; 
but  nothing  is  historically  known  of  them 4 

V.  2.  Bela  {that  is  Zoar) .  Bela  was  the  ancient,  and  Zoar  the  more  modern  name.  Compare 
ch.  19  :  20,  22.  The  word  Bela  means  a  swallowing  up;  and  according  to  a  Jewish  tradition,  the 
place  was  so  called  from  its  having  been  often  destroyed  by  earthquakes.  The  tradition  is  of 
little  account,  though  the  fact  in  itself  is  not  improbable.  But  Bela  occurs  several  times  as  the 
name  of  a  person  ;§  and  it  is  quite  as  probable  that  the  city  was  so  called  from  i  s  founder  and 
king,  and  that  for  this  reason  he  is  not  mentioned  by  name.|| 

The  narrative  of  the  transactions  commemorated  in  this  chapter  is  admitted  by  all  scholars  to 
be  of  very  great  antiquity,  containing  several  names  of  places  that  had  passed  out  of  use  and 
remembrance  in  later  times;  and  hence  the  addition  (here,  and  in  vv.  3,  7,  17)  of  the  more 
modern  names,  and  the  explanation  (in  vv.  G,  15)  of  localities  that  had  become  obscure,  or  could 
be  made  clearer  by  reference  to  one  that  had  become  more  distinguished  and  was  better  known. 

V.  3.  All  these  (tiic  five  kings  mentioned  in  the  second  verse)  joined  together,  for  defense 
against  the  common  enemy. 

In  the  vale  of  Siddim ;  where  the  battle  was  fought,  as  stated  in  v.  8.  For  the  position  of 
"  the  vale  of  Siddim,"  see  the  remarks  on  ch.  19. 

*  Rawlinson,  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Ellasar. 

f  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson,  App.  to  Herodotus,  Book  I.,  Essay  VI.,  5,  and  19,  "20. 

$  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  suggests  "Median  Soy (hs,  belonging  to  the  old  population"  of  the  coun- 
try (as  above,  §  20). 

§  For  example,  of  a  king  of  Edom,  ch.  3G  :  32.  See  also  ch.  46  :  21  (common  English  version 
Belah,  properly  Bela)  and  1  Chron.  5  :  8. 

||  It  should  not  be  overlooked,  that  the  city  itself  was  a  very  inconsiderable  one  (ch.  19  :  20), 
and  for  that  reason  the  name  of  its  king  may  have  been  omitted  in  the  ancient  record  of  this 
transaction. 

59 


Chap.  xiv.  GENESIS. 


1       Twelve   years   they   served    Chedorlaomer ;    and   in   the 

5  thirteenth  year  they  rebelled.     And  in  the  fourteenth  year 

came  Chedorlaomer,  and  the  kings  that  were  with  him,  and 

smote  the  Rephaites  in  Ashteroth-Karnaim,  and  the  Zuzim 


V.  4  states  the  cause  of  the  war  referred  to  in  the  preceding  verses,  which  lead  to  the  disas- 
trous battle  in  the  vale  of  Siddim.  It  was  the  result  of  this  battle  that  connected  Abraham's 
history  with  these  events;  and  hence  it  is  the  special  object  of  the  narrator,  as  appears  from 
the  first  three  verses.  <* 

VV.  5-12.  The  narrator  (in  vv.  5-7)  sketches  briefly  and  rapidly  the  progress  of  the  invasion, 
till  he  comes  to  his  special  object,  the  battle  in  the  vale  of  Siddim  and  its  results.  These  he 
describes  more  in  detail,  in  vv.  8-12. 

It  will  be  observed,  that  this  invasion  swept  the  whole  of  the  extensive  region,  so  important 
both  in  a  commercial  and  military  view,  from  the  sea  of  Tiberias  to  the  Arabian  gulf,  and  sub- 
jected it  to  the  then  dominant  power  in  western  Asia.  Thus  early  began  that  struggle  for  the 
mastery  of  this  country,  which  in  after-times  so  often  made  it  the  theatre  of  war  between  tha 
Babylonian  or  Assyrian  power  on  the  east,  and  the  Egyptian  on  the  south. 

Rephaites  (as  the  name  should  be  written).  These  were  a  gigantic  race  on  the  east  of  the 
Jordan,  dwelling  in  Bashan  and  northern  Gilead,  "  called  land  of  giants"  {Rephaites)  Dent.  3  : 
13,  who  were  driven  out  by  Moses,  and  of  whom  Og,  king  of  Bashan,  "  who  reigned  in  Ash- 
taroth  and  Edrei,"  his  chief  cities,  was  the  last  (Deut.  3  :  10,  11 ;  Josh.  13  :  12).  Other  giant 
races  of  Cam-unites  are  also  included  under  this  term;  hence  the  name,  "  valley  of  Rephaites," 
2  Sam.  5  :  18. 

Ashteroth-Karnaim.  The  word  AsMerolh  is  the  Hebrew  plural  of  AsMerelh  (the  Greek 
Astarte),  name  of  a  female  divinity  widely  worshiped  among  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Canaan ; 
for  example,  by  the  Zidonians  (1  Kings  11  :  33 ;  2  Kings  23  :  13),  by  the  Philistines  (1  Sam.  31  : 
10,)  and  also  on  the  east  side  of  the  Jordan,  as  is  seen  in  this  passage.  The  Israelites  were 
often  seduced  into  this  debasing  worship;  see  Judges  2  :  13,  10  :  6;  1  Sam.  7  :  3,  4;  12  :  10;  1 
Kings  11  :  5,  33 ;  2  Kings  23  :  13. 

This  form  of  idolatry  originated  in  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  ("  the  host  of  heaven," 
Deut.  4  :  19)  regarded  as  presiding  over  the  seasons,  regulating  their  return,  and  dispensing 
their  blessings.*  As  Baal  was  the  Sun-god,  representing  the  sun's  dominion  over  earth  (and 
also  the  planet  Jupiter,  "  the  star  of  Jove,  tli3  guardian  and  giver  of  good  fortune"),  so  Ashte- 
reth  represented  the  moon,  and  also  the  planet  Venus  "the  goddess  of  love  and  fortune." 
Under  the  former  character,  the  image  of  the  idol  bore  on  the  head  the  figure  of  a  crescent 
moon  ;  and  hence  the  name  Ashtereth- Karnaim  (literally,  Ashtereth  of  two  horns),  the  crescent- 
ed,  or  moon-ed,  Ashtereth.  Here  it  has  the  plural  form,  Ashteroth  ;  either  from  the  number  of 
images  erected  as  objects  of  worship,  or  indicating  different  modifications  of  the  same  divinity. 

The  city  was  calbd  Ashteroth-Karnaim  from  the  worship  of  the  goddess  (or  goddesses)  of 
that  name  that  prevailed  thercf  The  name  d  >es  not  occur  again  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  ; 
but  Karnaim  reappears,  as  a  city  of  Gilead,  in  later  Jewish  history;  see  1  Mace.  5  :  2G,  43,  44; 
2  Mace.  12  :  21,  2G ;  Josephus,  Ant.  12,  8,  44 

*  Compare  Job  31  :  2G,  27,  and  the  writer's  note  on  the  passage  (Book  of  Job,  explanatory 
notes):  The  adoration  of  the  heavenly  bodies  was  the  first  departure  from  the  worship  of  the 
Eternal  God,  their  Creator;  idols,  afterward  worshiped,  being  only  representatives  of  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  or  planets.     Compare  Deut.  4  :  10,  2  Kings  23  :  5,  Ezek.  8  :  1G. 

t  The  following  statement  is  a  sufficient  refutation  of  the  Jewish  tradition,  that  the  place  was 
so  called  from  "its  situation  between  two  high-peaked  hills:"  "Mr.  Porter  is  very  confident 
that '  Karnaim'  refers  to  the  figure  of  Ashteroth.  At  Kwiawai  (Kenath,  Num.  32  :  42)  in  Lejah, 
the  ancient  Argob,  he  found  '  a  colossal  head  of  Ashteroth,  sadly  broken,  in  front  of  a  little 
temple,  of  which  probably  it  was  once  the  chief  idol.  The  crescent  moon  which  gave  the  god- 
dess the  name  Carnaim  (two-horned)  is  on  her  brow.'  Elsewhere  also  among  the  massive  ruins 
of  the  deserted  cities  there  he  saw  'sculptured  images  of  Astarte,  with  the  crescent  moon,' 
showing  how  prevalent  was  this  form  of  worship,  and  what  was  its  characteristic  symbol."— 
Br.  Hackett,  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  vol.  I.,  p.  17G,  2d  col. 

%  Grove  (in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Ashteroth-Karnaim)  who,  with  much  probability, 

60 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xit. 


6  in   Ham,    and    the   Emim    in    Shaveh-Kiriathaim,    and    llio 
Horites   in  their   mount  Seir,  unto  El-paran  (which  is  by 

7  the   wilderness).      And   they   returned,    and   came    to    En- 
mishpat  (that  is  Kadesh),  and  smote  all  the  country  of  the 


Emim  ;  the  ancient  and  probably  original  occupants  of  a  region  east  of  the  Dead  sea.  Their 
territory  was  afterward  held  by  the  Moabites,  who  gave  them  this  name  (signifying  objects  of 
dread,  dreaded  ones)  on  account  of  their  formidable  stature  and  strength  (Deut.  2  :  10,  11). 

Shaueh-  Kirialhaim  meansptaui  of  two  cities  (or,  of  the  double  city),  and  was  so  called,  appar- 
ent^, from  two  contiguous  cities  on  the  same  plain.  The  route  taken  by  the  invading  force, 
and  the  order  of  their  conquests,  show  that  it  was  within  the  territory  cf  the  Moabites,  before 
the  northern  half  of  it  was  wrested  from  them  by  Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites  (Num.  21  :  2G). 
Kirialhaim  occurs  in  subsequent  history  as  the  name  of  a  city  in  the  territory  assigned  to  the 
tribe  of  Reuben  (Num.  32  :  37;  Josh.  13  :  19);  but  it  is  not  certain  that  it  was  the  place  spoken 
of  here. 

V.  G.  The  Horites  (meaning  dwellers  in  holes  or  caves)  were  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the 
mountainous  region  called  Seir  (rugged),  extending  from  the  Dead  sea  to  the  Arabian  gulf. 
Their  ancestor  was  Seir,  an  appellation  coincident  with  that  of  his  home,  .vhose  descendants 
are  given  in  ch.  36  :  20-30.  They  were  dispossessed  of  their  mountainous  home  by  the  posterity 
of  E~au  (Deut.  2  :  12,  22),  and  ceased  to  exist  as  an  independent  people. * 

El-paran  (oaks  of  Paran);  bij  the  wilderness,  namely,  the  desert  region  between  mount  Sinai, 
Palestine,  and  Idumaea.     Its  position  is  not  satisfactorily  determined. f 

V.  7.  From  El-paran,  the  southern  limit  of  their  conquests,  they  returned  northward,  and 
came  to  En-mishpat  (fountain  of  judgment),  so  called  from  some  unrecorded  transaction  which 
took  place  near  \t.% 

Kadesh,  according  to  Dr.  Robinson, §  is  "  in  the  western  part  of  the  'Arabah  south  of  the  Dead 
6ea,  perhaps  not  far  from  the  fountain  'Ain  el-Weibeh,  the  most  frequented  watering-place  ia 
all  that  region." 

Country  of  the  Amalelates.  By  these  are  meant  here  an  ancient  pastoral  people,  dwelling 
between  Egypt,  Philistia,  Edom,  and  the  wilderness  of  mount  Sinai. ]| 

Hazazon-unnar  (pruning,  or  felling,  of  the  palm);  called  afterward  En-gedi  (2  Chron.  20  : 
2),  celebrated  in  ancient  writers  for  its  groves  of  palm-trees  ;1T  hence  its  ancient  name. 

Having  thus  completed  a  rapid  sketch  of  the  ravages  of  the  invading  army,  the  narrative  now 
returns  to  its  special  object,  namely,  the  occurrences  which  connected  them  with  Abraham's 
history. 

identifies  it  with  es-Fanamein,  "  on  the  Haj  route,  about  twenty-five  miles  south  of  Damascus, 
and  to  the  northwest  of  the  Lejah." 

*  In  Job  30  :  3-3  is  a  melancholy  picture  of  the  outcast  remnant  of  such  a  race,  drawn  very 
probably  from  the  case  here  referred  to.  See  the  writer's  remarks  on  the  passage  (Book  of 
Job,  second  part,  explanatory  notes). 

t  "  Without  doubt  the  later  Elath  (Deut.  2  :  8,  or  Eloth,  1  Kings  0  :  26)  the  important  sea- 
port town  Aila  on  the  northern  extremity  of  the  so-called  /Elanitic  gulf.'-— Keil  Bib.  Com- 
mentar,  Genesis,  p.  140.  So  Winer,  Knobel,  and  Delitzsch.  But  see  SmWi's  Bible  Dictionary, 
art.  Paran. 

$  Some  explain  it  by  reference  to  Num.  20  :  12,  13,  and  suppose  that  the  name  is  used  here 
by  anticipation.     P>ut  of  this  there  is  no  probability. 

§  Hebrew  Lexicon  of  Gesenius  ;  compare  Researches  in  Palestine,  vol.  II.,  pp.  5S2  and  010. 

||  "A  very  ancient  people  (hence  called  '  first  of  the  nations,'  Num.  21  :  2  )),  who  in  the  time 
of  the  patriarchs  (Gen.  11:7)  already  occupied  the  region  southwest  of  Palestine,  between  the 
Edomites  and  the  borders  of  Egypt.  This  is  evident  from  Gen.  14  :  7,  Ex.  17  :  8-16,  Nam.  13  : 
29,  1  Sam.  L>  :  7,  compare  Josephus,  Ant.  vi.,  7,  3.  They  may  also  have  had  settlements  among 
their  kindred  Canaanites  in  Palestine  ;  hence  a  mountain  in  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  was  called 
mount  of  the  Amalekites  (Judges  12  :  15),  and  hence  also  ch.  5  :  14  is  to  be  explained." —  Qe- 
senius,  Ersch  und  Qruber's  Encyclop.,  arf.  Amalek.  Compare  Smiih's  Bible  Dictionary,  art. 
Amalekites. 

IT  Josephus,  Aniiq.,  ix.  1,2;  Pliny,  Kal  IIL*L,  v.  17. 

61 


Chap.  xiy.  GENESIS. 


Amalekites,  and  also  the  Amorites  that  dwelt  at  Hazazon- 
tamar. 

8  And  there  went  out  the  king  of  Sodom,  and  the  king  of 
Gomorrah,  and  the  king  of  Aclmah,  and  the  king  of  Ze- 
bo'im,  and  the  king  of  Bela  (that  is  Zoar),  and  joined  bat- 

9  tie  with  them  in  the  vale  of  Siddim  ;  with  Chedorlaomer 
king  of  Elam,  and  Tidal  king  of  nations,  and  Amraphel 
king  of  Shinar,  and  Arioch  king  of  Ellasar  ;  four  kings 
with  the  five. 

10  And  the  vale  of  Siddim  was  full  of  bitumen-pits  ;  and 
the  kings  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  fled,  and  fell  there ;  and 
they  that  were  left  fled  to  the  mountain. 

11  And  they  took  all  the  substance  of  Sodom  and  Gomor- 

12  rah,  and  all  their  food,  and  went  their  way.  .  And  they 
took  Lot  the  son  of  Abram's  brother,  and  his  substance, 
and  went  their  way  ;  and  he  was  dwelling  in  Sodom. 

13  And  there  came  one  that  escaped,  and  told  Abram  the 
Hebrew.  And  he  was  dwelling  by  the  oaks  of  Mamre  the 
Amorite,  brother  of  Eshcol,  and  brother  of  Aner ;  and  these' 
were  in  covenant  with  Abram. 

14  And  Abram  heard  that  his  brother  was  taken  captive  ; 
and  he  drew  out  his  trained  men,  born  in  his  house,  three 


V.  9.  The  expression  (in  the  last  clause)  is  peculiar,  as  the  proper  grammatical  arrangement 
would  be,  fice  Icings  with  four.  But  there  is  a  material,  though  not  a,  formal,  propriety  in  the 
■writer's  expression ;  making  the  nearer  the  leading  subject,  and  the  more  remote  the  subor- 
dinate one.     This  requires  the  definite  article  (with  the  five)  as  in  the  Hebrew. 

V.  10.  Bitumen-pits ;  where  this  mineral  pitch  boiled  up,  or  was  dug  out  from  the  earth. 
This  substance  still  abounds  in  that  region,  and  is  often  thrown  up  from  the  bed  of  the  Dead 
eea. 

V.  13.  The  Hebrew;  meaning  one  from  beyond,  namely,  from  beyond  the  river  Euphrates, 
where  the  descendants  of  Eber  (ch.  10  :  25)  in  one  line  of  his  posterity  (ch.  11  :  16-26)  dwelt 
before  the  migration  of  a  part  of  them  to  Canaan.  This  appellation  would  naturally  be  given 
them  by  those  among  whom  they  came  as  immigrants  from  beyond  the  river. 

The  name  Hebrew  might  be  formed,  as  a  patronymic,  from  the  name  Eber;  but  there  is  no 
evidence  that  this  was  the  case.* 

V.  14.  Unto  Dan.  The  noted  city  of  this  name,  known  as  the  northern  landmark  of  Pales- 
tine, was  originally  called  Laish,  and  did  not  receive  the  name  Dan  till  long  after  the  date  of 
this  record  of  these  transactions.  See  Judges  18  :  7,  14,  27,  29,  and  also  Josh.  19  :  47  (where 
the  name  is  written  Leshem).  It  is  very  improbable,  therefore,  that  this  city  was  the  one  which 
is  here  called  Dan. 

It  is  a  further  objection,  that  this  city  does  not  lie  on  either  of  the  routes  (one  below  the  sea 
of  Tiberias,  the  other  below  lake  Merom)  which  lead  from  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  by  Damas- 
cus and  Palmyra  to  Thapsacus  on  the  Euphrates,  and  which  the  retiring  forces  would  have  taken 

*  See  a  full  discussion  of  the  subject  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Hebrew. 

62 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xiv. 


15  hundred  and  eighteen,  and  pursued  after  unto  Dan.  And 
he  divided  himself  against  them  by  night,  he  and  his  serv- 
ants, and  smote  them,  and  pursued  them  unto  Hobah 
(which  is  on  the  left  of  Damascus). 

16  And  he  brought  back  all  the  substance.  And  also  Lot 
his  brother,  and  his  substance,  he  brought  back  ;  and  also 
the  women,  and  the  people. 

17  And  the  king  of  Sodom  went  out  to  meet  him,  after  he 
returned  from  smiting  Chedorlaomer  and  the  kings  that 
were  with  him,  to  the  valley  of  Shaveh  (that  is  the  King's 


Dale). 


18       And  Melchizedek  king  of  Salem  brought  forth  bread  and 

on  their  homeward  march ;  and  further,  that  if  they  had  proceeded  as  far  north  as  the  sources 
of  the  Jordan  in  the  valley  of  Beth-rehob,  they  would  then  have  taken  the  direct  course  through 
this  valley  by  Hamath,  instead  of  fleeing  in  the  direction  of  Damascus.* 

For  these  reasons,  it  is  supposed  that  another  place  is  meant  here,  namely,  Dan-jaan  in 
Gilead,  mentioned  in  Deut.  34  :  1,  and  2  Sam.  24  :  6.f 

V.  15.  The  unexpected  assault  by  night,  and  at  three  different  points,  accoiints  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  attack  against  a  much  larger  force.  For  this  mode  of  attack,  compare  1  Sam.  11  : 
11;  Jobl  :  17. 

Hobah.    A  village,  two  miles  north  of  Damascus,  still  bears  this  name. 

On  (lie  left.  In  the  Hebrew  expression  of  the  cardinal  points,  the  person  is  supposed  to  face 
the  east,  when  the  north  is  on  the  left  and  the  south  on  the  right,  the  east  before  and  the  west 
behind. 

V.  17.  The  king  of  Sodom.  It  is  not  improbable  that  by  "  kings  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah," 
in  v.  10,  are  meant  the  forces  represented  by  them  (brought  by  them  into  the  field),  and  that 
the  king  of  Sodom  may  have  been  among  the  survivors  ;  otherwise,  his  successor  is  meant  here. 

The  king's  dale  is  mentioned  again  in  2  Sam.  18  :  IS,  as  the  place  where  Absalom  "reared 
for  himself  a  pillar,"  which,  according  to  Josephus  (Ant.  VII.,  10,  3),  was  two  stadia  (a  quarter 
of  a  mile)  from  Jerusalem. 

VV.  18-20.  Melchizedek  (king  of  righteousness),  and  king  of  Salem  (king  of  peace),  are  high- 
ly significant,  iu  view  of  the  use  made  of  this  narrative  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  the  epistle  to 
the  Hebrews. 

It  appears,  from  this  record,  that  this  exalted  personage  united  in  himself  the  offices  of  king 
and  priest  of  the  most  high  God.  The  latter  relation  Abraham  recognized  by  giving  him  a  tenth 
of  the  spoils. 

Of  the  race  to  which  he  belonged,  his  parentage,  his  birth  and  death,  nothing  is  known. 
Hence  the  statement  in  Heb.  7  :  3. 

As  far  as  the  record  goes,  all  is  historical  and  certain,  and  free  from  mystery.  All  beyond  this 
is  groundless  and  worthless  conjecture.^ 

Here,  then,  is  a  Royal  Priesthood,  anterior  to  and  independent  of  the  Levitical  order  of  priests 
and  recognized  by  Abraham  himself,  the  ancestral  head  of  that  order.  In  no  way  could  the 
subordinate  and  temporary  relation  of  the  Levitical  priesthood  to  the  primary  and  eternal  priest- 
hood of  the  Messiah  be  so  clearly  shown,  as  by  the  use  made  of  this  historical  incident  in  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

*  Keil,  Biblische  Commenlar,  Genesis,  2te  Aufi.,  p.  150. 

f  "The  Dan  of  this  passage,  according  to  Deut.  34  :  1,  belonged  to  Gilead,  and  is  without 
doubt  the  same  as  the  Dan-jaan  mentioned  in  connection  with  Gilead  in  2  Sam.  24  :  G,  and  is  to 
be  sought  in  the  northern  part  of  Peraea,  southwest  of  Damascus." — Kril  (as  above). 

X  See  a  brief  summary  of  worse  than  idle  conjectures  iu  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Mel- 
chizedek. 

63 


Chap.  xv.  GENESIS. 


.... 


19  wine.  And  he  was  priest  of  the  most  high  God.  And  he 
blessed  him,  and  said :  Blessed  be  Abram  of  the  most  high 

20  God,  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth.  And  blessed  be  the 
most  high  God,  who  delivered  thine  enemies  into  thy  hand. 
And  he  gave  him  a  tenth  of  all. 

21  And  the  king  of  Sodom  said  to  Abram  :  'Give  me  the 
persons,  and  the  substance  take  to  thyself.  And  Abram 
said  to  the  king  of  Sodom  :  I  have  lifted  my  hand  to  Jeho- 
vah, the  most  high  God,  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth,  that 
not  from  a  thread  to  a  shoe-latchet  will  I  take  of  all  that  is 
thine.  And  thou  shalt  not  say  :  It  is  I  that  made  Abram 
rich.  Nothing  for  me,  save  what  the  young  men  have 
eaten,  and  the  portion  of  the  men  who  went  with  me, 
Aner,  Eshcol,  and  Mamre  ;  they  shall  take  their  portion. 


1  After  these  things,  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  to  Abram, 
in  vision,  saying  :  Fear  not,  Abram.  I  am  a  shield  to  thee  ; 
thy  reward  is  exceeding  great. 

2  And  Abram  said  :  Lord  Jehovah,  what  wilt  thou  give 
me  ?     For  I  go  childless  ;  and  the  heir  of  my  house,  he  is 

V.  19.     Or,  founder  of  heaven  and  earth.  V.  22.     Or,  founder  of  heaven  and  earth 

By  Salem  is  meant  Jerusalem;  and  this  ancient  name  occurs,  as  a  poetic  archaism,  in  Psalm 
76  :  2,  and  is  retained  in  the  compound  name  Jerusalem. 

The  "  bread  and  wine"  seem  intended  for  refreshment.  A  sacramental  use,  which  some  have 
imagined  to  be  intended,  has  no  warrant  in  the  connection. 

V.  20.  Gave  him  a  tenth  of  all;  as  he  had  a  right  to  do,  this  being  less  than  his  proper  share 
of  the  rescued  spoils. 

VV.  21-24.  Abraham  declines,  and  with  very  marked  emphasis,  the  proffered  reward  for  hi8 
disinterested  service.  For  the  grounds  of  this,  there  is  no  occasion  to  look  beyond  his  own 
generous  spirit,  and  his  resolution  to  be  under  no  obligation  to  the  king,  even  in  appearance. 
But  he  is  just  as  well  as  generous;  and  claims  for  his  partners  their  share  of  the  recovered 
spoils  (v.  24). 

V.  22.  Have  lifted  my  hand  to  Jehovah  ;  in  token  of  recognition  of  him,  as  witness  to  the 
oath. 

Ch.  15.  Confirmation  of  the  covenant  with  Abraham. 

V.  1.  After  these  things.  The  preceding  chapter  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  the  perils  and  un- 
certainties, to  human  view'  of  Abraham's  occupancy  of  the  land  of  promise.  Jehovah  now 
appears,  and  reassures  him  with  the  words:  "Fear  not,  I  am  a  shield  to  thee;"  and  adds,  in 
view  of  h;s  steadfast  faith  and  unwavering  trust,  "  thy  reward  is  exceeding  great." 

In  vision;  that  is,  in  the  mental  perception,  whether  in  dream  or  trance  (Job  4  :  13 ;  Acta 
22  :  17,  18).     Compare  below,  vv.  12  and  17. 

Thy  reward.  Compare  the  statement  of  the  case  in  Rom.  4  :  3-5.  It  was  on  the  ground  of 
his  faith  alone,  and  as  a  gift  of  grace,  that  he  was  promised  this  great  reward. 

V.  2.  I  go  (that  is,  go  on,  continue}  childless.  Or,  as  others  understand  the  expression,  I  go 
(that  is,  go  away,  pass  away)  childless ;  shall  die  childless.  But  the  former  is  more  probably 
the  meaning. 

64 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xv. 


Eliezer  of  Damascus.  And  Abram  said :  Behold,  to  me 
thou  hast  not  given  seed  ;  and  behold,  one  of  my  house- 
hold will  be  my  heir. 

And  behold,  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  to  him,  saying : 
This  shall  not  be  thy  heir ;  but  one  that  shall  come  forth 
from  thine  own  bowels,  he  shall  be  thy  heir. 

And  he  brought  him  forth  abroad,  and  said  :  Look  now 
toward  heaven,  and  number  the  stars,  if  thou  shalt  be  able 
to  number  them.  And  he  said :  So  shall  be  thy  seed. 
And  he  believed  in  Jehovah ;  and  he  reckoned  it  to  him 
for  righteousness. 

And  he  said  to  him :  I  am  Jehovah,  who  brought  thee 
out  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldeeans,  to  give  thee  this  land  to 
possess  it.  And  he  said  :  Lord  Jehovah,  whereby  shall  I 
know  that  I  shall  possess  it? 

And  he  said  to  him  :  Take  for  me  a  heifer  three  years 
old,  and  a  she-goat  three  years  old,  and  a  ram  three  years 


Eliezer.  Probably  the  head  steward  and  confidential  servant  of  Abraham,  "  that  ruled  over 
all  that  he  had"  (ch.  24  :  2). 

Of  Damascus.  This  city  was  on  one  of  the  principal  routes  between  Mesopotamia  and  Pales- 
tine. There  are  intimations  in  ancient  writings  of  Abraham's  temporary  residence  in  its 
vicinity. 

V.  5.    If  thou  shaltbe  able;  if,  upon  making  the  trial,  thou  shalt  prove  able  to  do  it. 

It  is  now  well  known,  that  the  number  of  stars  that  can  be  counted  with  the  naked  eye,  though 
seemingly  innumerable,  is  really  very  small ;  and  Abraham's  posterity,  unless  it  far  exceed- 
ed that  number,  would  have  been  quite  inconsiderable.  This  shows,  along  with  many  similar 
cases,  that  the  Scriptures  speak  of  such  subjects  according  to  the  common  apprehension  of 
them ;  and  this  we  ought  to  expect  in  a  divine  book,  intended  for  the  instruction  of  all,  and  not 
of  the  favored  few. 

V.  6.    Compare  Rom.,  ch.  4. 

V.  7.  A  night  had  intervened ;  and  on  the  following  day  (compare  v.  5  with  v.  12)  Jehovah 
reminds  Abraham,  that  it  was  he  who  brought  him  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldaeans;  and  that  hi3 
purpose  in  this  was  to  give  him  the  land  to  possess  it.  In  regard  to  this  further  promise,  name- 
ly, that  his  posterity  shall  rightfully  possess  the  land,  Abraham  desires  some  outward  token 
that  shall  assure  him  of  the  divine  purpose.    This  is  granted  him. 

W.  9-17.  We  have  here  one  of  the  most  impressive  ceremonies  known  to  ancient  times. 
The  party,  or  parties,  to  a  covenant  (here  there  was  but  one*  as  intimated  in  Gal.  3  :  20) 
passed  between  the  severed  bodies  of  slain  beasts,  symbolizing  what  was  due  to  a  violation  of 
the  compact.!  Jehovah,  in  like  manner,  condescends  to  confirm  his  covenant,  by  causing  a 
symbol  of  his  presence  to  pass  between  the  divided  victims  (v.  17). 

V.  9.  Three  years  old ;  that  is,  of  full  age,  when  it  is  a  perfect  animal.  The  animals  here 
mentioned  were  accounted  clean,  for  sacred  uses,  and  hence  were  selected  for  this  religious 


*  Those  who  represent  this  as  a  covenant  to  which  two  were  parties,  God  being  one  and 
Abraham  the  other,  misconceive  the  whole  transaction.  It  was  God's  covenant  with  Abraham, 
and  not  Abraham's  covenant  with  God. 

f  Compare  the  impressive  reference  to  this  ancient  rite  in  Jer.  34  :  18-20. 
e  65 


Chap.  xv.  GENESIS. 


10  old,  and  a  turtle-dove,  and  a  young  pigeon.  And  he  took 
to  him  all  these ;  and  he  divided  them  in  the  midst,  and 
laid  each  one's  part  over  against  its  fellow  ;  but  the  birds 
he  did  not  divide. 

11  And  birds  of  prey  came  down  upon  the  carcasses  ;  and 
Abram  drove  them  away. 

12  And  the  sun  was  about  going  down,  and  a  deep  sleep 
fell  upon  Abram  ;  and  behold,  a  horror  of  great  darkness 

13  falling  upon  him.  And  he  said  to  Abram :  Know  surely, 
that  thy  seed  shall  be  a  sojourner  in  a  land  that  is  not 
theirs,  and  will  serve  them ;  and  they  will  afflict  them  four 

u  hundred   years.      And  the  nation  which  they  will  serve  I 

judge  ;  and  afterward  they  shall  come  out  with  great  sub- 

15  stance.     And  as  for  thee,  thou  shalt  go  to  thy  fathers  in 

15  peace  ;  thou  shalt  be  buried  in  a  good  old  age.      And  in 

the  fourth    generation  they  shall  return  hither.      For  the 

iniquity  of  the  Amorites  is  not  yet  full. 

V.  10.  Laid  each  one's  part  over  against  Us  fellow ;  that  is,  lie  laid  one  half  of  each  animal 
over  against  its  other  half.  The  birds  he  did  not  dioide;  did  not  "  divide  them  asunder,"  as 
directed  in  Lev.  1  :  17. 

V.  11.  Bi?-ds  of  prey  came  down,  etc.  Thi3  -would  naturally  follow  the  exposure  of  dead 
bodies  in  the  open  field,  and  would  therefore,  together  with  the  act  of  guarding  them,  be  an 
essential  feature  in  a  complete  picture  of  the  scene.  Perhaps  this  is  all  that  is  intended.  But 
by  some  it  is  regarded  as  an  omen  of  hostile  attempts  on  the  part  of  heathen  adversaries,  which 
should  be  successfully  repelled.* 

V.  12.  As  the  sun  is  going  down,  a  deep  sleep  falls  upon  Abraham;  and  in  it,  a  shuddering 
eense  of  great  darkness,  settling  down  upon  him.  In  this  state  of  insensibility  to  outward 
objects,  his  inward  sense  is  conscious  of  the  divine  presence,  and  receives  the  prophetic  revela- 
tion. 

Deep  sleep.  The  same  Hebrew  word  is  used  to  express  the  supernatural  sleep  that  fell  upon 
Adam  (ch.  2  :  21). 

V.  13.  Four  hundred  years;  the  prophetic  round  number,  for  the  more  exact  historical 
period  of  four  hundred  and  thirty  years,  in  Ex.  12  :  40. 

V.  16.  Generation  is  here  equivalent  to  a  hundred  years  or  more  (v.  13),  in  accordance  with 
the  term  of  human  life  at  that  time. 

Is  not  yet  full.  Their  course  of  evil  is  not  yet  fully  run,  and  the  divine  purposes  are  not  fully 
accomplished  by  them  in  their  chosen  career  of  guilt.  This  is  the  key  to  many  of  the  dark  ways 
of  Providence,  as  regards  individuals  33  well  as  nations;  and  all  human  history  is  the  illustra- 
tion of  this  divine  forbearance  and  delayed  but  sure  justice. 

*  "  This  is  no  unmeaning  trait,  but  has  a  significance  bearing  on  the  future  founding  of  the 
theocracy.  Birds  of  prey  were  regarded  by  the  Hebrews  and  others  as  impure  (Lev.  11  :  13 ; 
Plutarch,  Romulus,  ix.),  and  are  therefore  symbols  of  impure  heathen;  here  of  the  Egyptians, 
who  would  not  let  Israel  go,  and  accordingly  would  have  hindered  the  consummation  of  the 
covenant  at  Sinai,  but  were  foiled  by  the  zeal  of  Israel's  leaders.  To  them  the  hawk  was  espe- 
cially sacred ;  and  under  the  image  of  the  hawk,  symbol  of  the  sun,  they  represented  the  deity, 
and  especially  their  supreme  god,  the  Sun-god  Oairis." — Knobel,  die  Genesis  erkldrt,  2te  Aufl., 
p.  153. 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xvl 


17  And  the  sun  was  gone  down,  and  darkness  came  on. 
And  behold,  a  furnace  of  smoke  and  fiery  flame,  that  pass- 
ed between  those  pieces. 

13  On  that  day  did  Jehovah  make  a  covenant  with 
Abram,  saying :  To  thy  seed  I  give  this  land,  from  the 
river  of  Egypt  unto  the  great  river,  the  river  Euphrates ; 

19  the    Kenites,    and    the    Kenizzites,    and   the   Kadmonites, 

20  and  the  Hittites,    and   the    Perizzites,  and  the  Repha'i'tes, 

21  and  the  Amorites,  and  the  Canaanites,  and  the  Girga- 
shites,  and  the  Jebusites. 

1       And  Sarai,  the  wife  of  Abram,  bore  him  no  child.     And 
she    had    an  Egyptian    maid-servant,    and   her   name   was 

The  delayed  occupancy  of  Palestine  by  the  Israelites  for  the  reason  here  assigned,  their 
oppression  in  the  land  of  Egypt  and  deliverance  from  it  by  divine  power,  are  among  the  most 
important  events  of  history,  in  the  extent  of  their  influence  on  human  welfare. 

V.  17.  A  glowing  furnace,  enveloped  in  smoke  and  outbursting  flame,  symbolized  the  divine 
presence.  The  consuming  fire,  breaking  through  the  enveloping  smoke,  is  an  apt  emblem  of 
the  divine  power,  veiling  itself  and  only  partially  revealed. 

It  is  uncertain  whether  this  scene  passed  before  Abraham's  mental  vision,  during  the  super- 
natural sleep  that  fell  upon  him  (v.  12),  or  whether  he  awoke  and  beheld  it  with  the  bodily  eye. 
The  former  view  seems  to  be  the  more  probable  one  ;  as  the  covenant  confirmed  by  this  rite, 
and  expressed  in  the  following  verses,  was  then  communicated,  and  doubtless  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  prophetic  revelation  in  vv.  13-16. 

The  covenant  being  the  free  grant  of  Jehovah  (compare  ch.  6  :  18),  he  alone  executes  the  rite 
in  confirmation  of  it. 

V.  18.  From  the  river  of  Egypt,  etc.  The  kingdom  of  Israel,  in  its  most  prosperous  period, 
had  this  extent  of  territory.  See  1  Kings  8  :  65.  River  of  Egypt ;  here  the  Pelusiac  or  most 
eastern  branch  of  the  Nile. 

These  are  the  terms  of  this  divine  deed  of  gift.  The  subsequent  history  of  the  Israelites,  in 
connection  with  it,  is  an  instructive  commentary  on  the  relation  of  human  action  to  the  declared 
purpose  of  God. 

VV.  19-21.  These  verses  seem  not  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  divine  communication  to  Abra- 
ham, but  to  have  been  added  by  the  sacred  writer,  specifying  the  principal  nations  by  whom 
this  territory  was  occupied. 

Kenites  ;  in  the  region  south  of  Palestine  and  bordering  on  Egypt  (1  Sam.  15  :  6,  7). 

Kenizzites  (in  the  common  English  version  written  also  Keneziles,  in  Num.  32  :  12,  Josh.  14  : 
6, 14,  where  the  Hebrew  is  the  same  as  here),  a  people  of  Edom,  descendants  of  Kenaz  (ch. 
36:11).       > 

Kadmonites  (not  elsewhere  mentioned),  meaning  eastern,  and  supposed  to  have  occupied  the 
part  of  this  territory  toward  its  eastern  limit. 

EMites;  see  the  remarks  on  ch.  10  :  15,  16,  third  paragraph. 

Ferizzites  ;  see  ch.  13  :  7,  34  :  30 ;  Josh.  17  :  15  ;  Judges  1  :  4,  5. 

Eephaites ;  see  the  remarks  on  ch.  14  :  5-12,  third  paragraph. 

Canaanites ;  sec  ch.  10  :  19.  Amorites,  Girgashites,  Jebusites  ;  see  the  remarks  on  ch.  10  t 
15-20,  fourth  paragraph. 

Ch.  16.  Hagar,  Sarah's  maid-servant,  given  by  her  mistress  to  Abraham  for  a  wife.  Birth  of 
Ishmael. 

The  transaction  here  recorded  is  not  defensible  on  any  grounds  of  Christian  morality.  But  it 
is  to  be  observed,  in  the  first  place,  that  neither  of  the  parties  to  the  marriage  relation  was 
wronged  by  it,  since  it  was  proposed  and  urged  by  the  wife,  and  for  her  own  gratification 

61 


Chap,  m  GENESIS. 


2  Hagar.  And  Sarai  said  to  Abram  :  Behold  now,  Jehovah 
has  withheld  me  from  bearing.  Go  in,  I  pray  thee,  unto 
my  maid -servant.  It  may  be,  that  I  shall  be  built  up  from 
her.     And  Abram  hearkened  to  the  voice  of  Sarai. 

3  And  Sarai,  the  wife  of  Abram,  took  Hagar  the  Egyptian, 
her  maid-servant,  after  Abram  had  dwelt  ten  years  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  gave  her  to  Abram  her  husband,  to 

4  be  his  wife.  And  he  went  in  unto  Hagar,  and  she  con- 
ceived. And  she  saw  that  she  had  conceived ;  and  her 
mistress  was  despised  in  her  eyes. 

6  And  Sarai  said  to  Abram  :  My  wrong  be  upon  thee.  I 
myself  gave  my  maid-servant  into  fhy  bosom  ;  and  she  saw 
that  she  had  conceived,  and  I  was  despised  in  her  eyes. 
Jehovah  judge  between  me  and  thee. 

6       And  Abram  said  to  Sarai  :  Behold,  thy  maid-servant  is 

and  benefit;  and  secondly,  that  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  age,  and  at  a  time 
when  such  an  expedient,  for  the  benefit  of  the  interested  party  in  the  marriage  relation,  wa3 
condemned  by  no  precept  of  the  divine  law  then  promulgated. 

Sarah  voluntarily  yielded  her  rights  as  a  wife,  a  relation  which  seemed  to  her  to  have  failed  of 
its  object,  in  order  that  she  might  obtain  children  whom  she  could  call  her  own,  and  in  whom 
her  name  and  memory  would  be  perpetuated.  It  seems  that  Abraham  did  not  seek  it,  and  only 
yielded  to  the  importunities  of  his  wife.  We  have  no  reason,  from  the  whole  narrative,  to  think 
that  these  importunities  fell  short  of  what  is  recorded  in  a  similar  case  (ch.  30  :  1),  "  Give  me 
children,  or  else  I  die."  The  result  showed  that  compliance,  in  such  a  case,  is  not  the  easiest 
or  safest  policy.* 

Calvin  and  others  think  it  an  extenuating  circumstance,  that  the  object  was  good,  namely,  to 
make  sure  of  the  child  of  promise  before  it  should  be  too  late.  It  is  not  clear  how  this  would 
help  the  case,  even  if  the  supposition  were  true;  and  of  this  there  is  no  indication  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  narrative. 

V.  1.  An  Egyptian  maid-servant.  She  probably  became  a  member  of  the  household  during 
Abraham's  temporary  abode  in  Egypt.     See  the  statement  in  ch.  12  :  16. 

V.  2.  I  shall  be  built  up  from  her;  namely,  in  a  family  of  children  proceeding  from  her,  and 
borne  by  her  as  mine.    See  ch.  30  :  3.f 

V.  3.  Tobe  his  wife.  She  took  the  place  and  relation  of  a  wife,  which  Sarah  voluntarily 
relinquished  for  her  own  advantage.    See  the  introductory  remarks  on  this  chapter. 

W.  5,  6.  My  wrong  be  upon  thee ;  namely,  in  case  I  am  not  redressed  by  the  punishment  of 
the  offender. 

I  myself  gave,  etc.  She  pleads,  as  the  reason  why  she  should  be  redressed,  that  to  her  own 
self-denying  act  Abraham  owed  the  prospect  of  an  heir,  and  Hagar  the  ground  of  her  insolent 
and  ungrateful  triumph. 

Thy  maid-servant  is  in  thy  hand.  Abraham  concedes  to  Sarah  the  right,  which  truly  belong- 
ed to  her,  to  deal  with  her  own  maid-servant  as  she  deemed  just  and  proper.    Hagar,  by  her 

*  In  beautiful  contrast  is  the  relation  between  Elkanah  and  Hannah  (nomen  carissimum),  as 
indicated  in  his  language,  "Am  not  I  better  to  thee  than  ten  sons?"  (1  Sam.  1  :  8.) 

t  There  is  the  same  allusion  in  the  Hebrew  word  for  son,  and  its  feminine  form  for  daughter, 
from  a  verb  meaning  to  build.  So  also  the  word  for  house  (properly  building,  from  the  same 
verb)  often  stands  for  a  numerous  progeny,  or  race.  See,  for  example,  Ruth.  4  :  11,  "like 
Rachel  and  like  Leah,  which  two  built  the  house  of  Israel ;"  and  compare  the  numerous  ex- 
pressions like  "  house  of  Jacob"  (Psalm  114  :  1),  "house  of  Judah"  (2  Sam.  2  :  4). 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xvl 


in  thy  hand.  Do  to  her  that  which  is  good  in  thine  eyes. 
And  Sarai  dealt  harshly  with  her,  and  she  fled  from  her 
face. 

7  And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  found  her  by  the  fountain  of 
water  in   the   wilderness,  by   the   fountain   in  the  way  to 

8  Shur.  And  he  said  :  Hagar,  Sarai's  maid-servant,  whence 
earnest  thou,  and  whither  art  thou  going  ?  And  she  said  : 
I  am  fleeing  from  the  face  of  Sarai,  my  mistress. 

9  And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  said  to  her:  Return  to  thy 
mistress,  and  submit  thyself  under  her  hands. 

10  And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  said  to  her  :  I  will  greatly 
multiply  thy  seed,  and  it  shall  not  be  numbered  for  mul- 
titude. 

11  And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  said  to  her  :  Behold,  thou  art 
with  child,  and  shalt  bear  a  son,  and  shalt  call  his  name 
Ishmael ;    because    Jehovah    hearkened    to    thy    affliction. 

12  And  he  will  be  a  wild  man,  his  hand  against  every  man, 
and  every  man's  hand  against  him.  And  before  the  face 
of  all  his  brethren  will  he  dwell. 

13  And  she  called  the  name  of  Jehovah,  who  spoke  to  her, 
Thou  God  of  vision.  For  she  said  :  Do  I  even  see,  here 
after  the  vision  ? 

14  Therefore  the  well  was  called  Beer-lehai-roi.  Behold,  it 
is  between  Kadesh  and  Bered. 


unjustifiable  demeanor  toward  her  mistress,  had  forfeited  any  claim  she  might  otherwise  have 
had  on  his  protection. 

V.  7.  Angel  of  Jehovah ;  one  of  the  divine  messengers  so  often  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment;  for  example,  Judges  6  :  11,  21;  13  :  3,  16,  20;  2  Sam.  24  :  16.  Compare,  in  the  New 
Testament,  Matt.  1  :  19 ;  Luke  1:11;  Acts  5  :  19. 

In  the  ?(w/  to  Shur.  Shur  was  near  the  eastern  boundary  of  Egypt ;  compare  ch.  25  :  18, 
"Shur,  that  is  before  Egypt,  as  thou  goest  toward  Assyria."  She  was  returning,  therefore,  to 
her  native  country. 

V.  11.    Ishmael;  meaning,  God  hears. 

V.  12.  Before  the  face  of  all  his  brethren  will  he  dwell  (make  his  abode).  This  is  by  some  un- 
derstood to  mean,  in  their  vicinity  and  neighborhood,  and  that  he  should  not  be  reckoned  an 
outcast  because  he  was  born  of  a  bondwoman.  But  the  meaning  is  rather,  he  will  dwell  at 
large,  in  sight  of  all  his  kindred,  maintaining  his  separate  and  independent  nationalities,  apart 
from  and  in  the  sight  of  all ;  a  characteristic  trait  of  the  wandering  Ishmaelite  tribes  of  Arabia. 

VV.  13,  14.  God  of  vision;  who  permits  himself  to  be  seen,  to  be  an  object  of  vision,  and 
whom  one  may  see  and  live. 

In  the  following  clause,  do  I  see  (behold  the  light)  is  the  same  as,  do  I  live  ;  and  the  words, 
here  after  the  vision  mean,  here  where  I  beheld  this  sight,  the  holy  place  where  God  appeared 
through  his  angel. 

Beer-khai-roi  means,  well  of  living  vision;  where  one  lived  after  the  vision  (the  beholding) 

69 


Chap,  xvil  GENESIS. 


15  And  Hagar  bore  a  son  to  Abram.      And  Abram  called 

16  the  name  of  his  son,  whom  Hagar  bore,  Ishmael.  And 
Abram  was  eighty  and  six  years  old,  when  Hagar  bore 
Ishmael  to  Abram. 

1  And  Abram  was  ninety  and  nine  years  old.  And  Jeho- 
vah  appeared   to   Abram,    and   said   to   him :    I   am   God, 

2  Almighty  ;  walk  before  me,  and  be  perfect.  And  I  will 
set  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee,  and  will  muliiply 
thee  exceedingly. 

3  And  Abram  fell  on  his  face  ;  and  God  talked  with  him, 

4  saying  :  As  for  me,  behold  my  covenant  is  with  thee,  and 
6  thou  shalt  become  a  father  of  a  multitude  of  nations.     And 

thy  name  shall  no  more  be  called  Abram,  but  thy  name 
shall  be  Abraham  ;  for  a  father  of  a  multitude  of  nations 

6  have  I  made  thee.  And  I  will  make  thee  fruitful  ex- 
ceedingly, and  I  will  make  nations  of  thee,  and  kings  shall 

T  come  forth  from  thee.  And  I  will  establish  my  covenant 
between  me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee  in  their 
generations,  for  an   everlasting  covenant,   to  be  a  God  to 

8  thee  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee.     And  I  will  give  to  thee, 
'  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee,  the  land  of  thy  sojournings,  the 

whole  land  of  Canaan,  for  an  everlasting  possession  ;  and  I 
will  be  their  God. 

9  And   God  said  to  Abraham:  And   as  for  thee,  my  cov- 


of  a  divine  messenger.    It  was  supposed  that  a  mortal  could  not  look  on  sucli  a  being  and  live. 
Compare  Judges  6  :  22,  23,  13  :  22. 

Kadesh;  see  the  remarks  on  ch.  14  :  7,  second  paragraph.  Bered  is  not  mentioned  else- 
where, and  nothing  is  known  of  its  position. 

Ch.  17.    The  covenant  of  circumcision  with  Abraham  and  his  posterity. 

The  stipulations  of  this  covenant  are  tbe  following  :  On  the  part  of  Jehovah  (vv.  4-S),  the 
grant  to  Abraham  of  a  numerous  and  powerful  progeny  (vv.  4-6),  the  establishment  of  his  cov- 
enant with  him  and  his  posterity  to  be  their  God  (v.  7),  and  the  gift  of  the  land  of  Canaan  as 
their  inheritance  (v.  8) ;  on  the  part  of  Abraham  and  his  posterity  (vv.  9-14),  the  circumcision 
of  every  male  throughout  all  generations. 

The  obvious  design  of  this  covenant  was  to  set  apart  a  people  for  a  special  purpose  (see 
remarks  on  ch.  11  :  vv.  10  and  following),  and  to  keep  them  distinct  from  others  by  a  peculiar 
national  sign,  till  that  purpose  should  be  accomplished. 

V.  1.  Walk  before  me  ;  as  in  my  presence  and  sight,  and  by  implication,  in  accordance  with 
my.  will  and  requirements.     Be  perfect  ;  omitting  nothing  of  all  that  is  required. 

V.  5.    Abraham  ;  meaning,  father  of  a  multitude. 

V.  8.  Of  thy  sojournings,  from  place  to  place,  as  a  stranger  without  a  fixed  abode.  The 
plural  is  significant  of  his  frequent  change  of  abode. 

70 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xvil 


enant  shalt  thou  keep,  thou,  and  thy  seed  after  thee  in 

10  their  generations.  This  is  my  covenant,  which  ye  shall 
keep,  between  me  and  you  and  thy  seed  after  thee :  Every 

11  male  of  you  shall  be  circumcised.  And  ye  shall  circum- 
cise  the   flesh  of  your   foreskin  ;   and   it   shall  be   a  cov- 

12  enant-sign  between  me  and  you.  And  at  the  age  of  eight 
days  every  male  of  you  shall  be  circumcised,  in  your  gen- 
erations, he   that  is   born  in  the   house,  and  bought  with 

13  money  of  any  stranger,  who  is  not  of  thy  seed.  He  that 
is  born  in  thy  house,  and  he  that  is  bought  with  thy 
money,  shall  surely  be  circumcised  ;  and  my  covenant  shall 

14  be  in  your  flesh  for  an  everlasting  covenant.  And  the 
uncircumcised  male,  the  flesh  of  whose  foreskin  is  not  cir- 
cumcised, that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people  ;  he 
has  broken  my  covenant. 

15  And  God  said  to  Abraham  :  As  for  Sarai  thy  wife,  thou 
shalt  not  call  her  name  Sarai,  for  Sarah  shall  be  her  name. 

16  And  I  will  bless  her,  yea  and  will  give  thee  a  son  from 
her  ;  and  I  will  bless  her,  and  she  shall  become  nations  ; 
kings  of  peoples  shall  be  from  her. 

17  And  Abraham  fell  on  his  face,  and  laughed  ;  and  he  said 
in  his  heart  :  Shall  a  child  be  born  to  him  that  is  a  hun- 
dred years  old  ?  And  Sarah,  shall  she  that  is  ninety  years 
old  bear  ? 

18  And  Abraham  said  to  God  :  Would  that  Ishmael  might 
live  before  thee  ! 

19  And  God  said  :  Nay,  Sarah  thy  wife  shall  bear  thee  a 
son,  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Isaac.      And  I  will  estab- 


W.  12,  13.  The  requirement  in  v.  10,  of  the  circumcision  of  every  male,  extends  to  him 
"  that  is  born  in  the  house,  and  bought  with  money  of  any  stranger,  who  is  not  of  thy  seed." 
Being  a  national  sign,  it  is  required  of  all  who  are  admitted  within  the  pale  of  the  nation. 

V.  14.     Shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people  ;  shall  not  be  reckoned  as  one  of  them. 

V.  1").     Sarah;  meaning,  princess;  so  called  as  the  mother  of  future  nations  and  their  kings. 

V.  17.  Laughed  ;  not  at  the  apparent  improbability  of  what  is  promised,  expressing  doubt 
and  unbelief,  but  at  its  strangeness,-an  expression  both  of  surprise  a-nd  joy. 

V.  Is.  Beforethee;  namely,  in  thy  sight,  and  by  implication,  with  thini  approval  and  by  thy 
favor.  Abraham,  with  a  natural  affection  for  the  child  already  born  to  him,  desires  that  he 
may  be  the  promised  heir.  This  is  evident  from  the  form  of  the  reply  in  the  first  clause  of  the 
following  verse,  showing  that  God  had  something  better  than  this  in  reserve  for  him. 

V.  19.  The  name  Isaac  (kindred  with  the  word  meaning  to  laugh)  is  a  gentle  reminder  of  the 
effect  produced  on  Abraham  by  the  promise  in  vv.  15, 16.    See  the  remark  on  v.  17.    The  nam© 

71 


Chap.  xvni.  GENESIS. 


lish  my  covenant  with  him  for  an  everlasting  covenant,  for 
his  seed  after  him. 

20  And  as  for  Ishmael,  I  have  heard  thee.  Behold,  I  have 
blessed  him,  and  made  him  fruitful,  and  multiplied  him 
exceedingly.      Twelve   princes  shall  he  beget,  and  I  will 

21  make  him  a  great  nation.  But  my  covenant  I  will  estab- 
lish with  Isaac,  whom  Sarah  shall  bear  to  thee  at  this 
set  time,  in  the  following  year. 

22  And  he  finished  talking  with  him ;  and  God  went  up  from 
Abraham. 

23  And  Abraham  took  Ishmael  his  son,  and  all  that  were 
born  in  his  house,  and  all  that  were  bought  with  his 
money,  every  male  among  the  men  of  Abraham's  house, 
and  he  circumcised  the  flesh  of  their  foreskin  in  that  very 

24  day,  as  God  had  spoken  with  him.  And  Abraham  was 
ninety  and  nine  years  old,  when  he  was  circumcised  in  the 

25  flesh  of  his  foreskin.  And  Ishmael  his  son  was  thirteen 
years  old,  when  he  was   circumcised  in   the   flesh   of  his 

26  foreskin.     In  that  very  day  was  Abraham  circumcised,  and 

27  Ishmael  his  son.  And  all  the  men  of  his  house,  born  in 
the  house,  and  bought  with  money  of  the  stranger,  were 
circumcised  with  him. 

1  And  Jehovah  appeared  to  him  by  the  oaks  of  Mamre  ; 
and  he  was  sitting  at  the  door  of  the  tent  in  the  heat  of 

2  the  day.  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  saw,  and  behold, 
three  men  standing  over  against  him.  And  he  saw,  and 
ran  to  meet  them  from  the  door  of  the  tent,  and  bowed 


is  significant  also  of  another  occurrence,  related  in  ch.  18  :  12,  and  allusion  is  made  to  it  again 
in  ch.  21  :  6. 

V.  20.  And  made  him  fruitful,  etc. ;  in  God's  purpose,  is  meant.  What  he  has  determined  is 
gpoken  of  as  in  effect  already  done. 

Ch.  18.  Jehovah  appears  to  Abraham.  Renewed  promise  of  a  son.  Destruction  of  Sodom 
foretold. 

V.  2.  Three  men.  Three  personages  in  human  form.  Such  was  their  appearance,  and  a3 
each  they  were  received  and  hospitably  entertained  by  Abraham.  Their  true  character.becomes 
apparent  to  the  reader  in  the  progress  of  the  narrative.  That  Jehovah  thus  manifested  himself, 
in  intercourse  with  the  patriarchs,  is  not  more  strange  than  that  "  the  Word  became  flesh  and 
dwelt  among  us." 

Standing  over  against  him.  It  is  the  manner  of  eastern  travelers,  when  soliciting  hospitality, 
to  remain  standing  at  a  respectful  distance  till  invited  to  approach. 

12 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xvm. 


3  himself  toward  the  earth.  And  he  said  :  My  Lord,  if  now 
I  have  found  favor  in  thy  sight,  pass  not  on,  I  pray  thee, 

*  from  thy  servant.  Let  a  little  water,  I  pray  thee,  be 
fetched,  and  wash  your   feet,  and   recline  under  the  tree. 

5  And  let  me  fetch  a  morsel  of  bread,  and  strengthen  ye 
your  heart ;  after  that  ye  shall  pass  on ;  for  therefore  do 
ye  pass  by  your  servant.  And  they  said :  So  do,  as  thou 
hast  spoken. 

6  And  Abraham  hastened  into  the  tent  to  Sarah,  and 
said  :  Make  ready  quickly  three  seahs  of  fine  flour,  knead 

7  it,  and  make  hearth-cakes.  And  Abraham  ran  to  the 
herd,  and  took  a  calf  tender  and  good,  and  gave  it  to  the 

8  servant ;  and  he  made  haste  to  dress  it.  And  he  took 
curd  and  milk,  and  the  calf  which  he  had  dressed,  and  set 
it  before  them  ;  and  he  stood  by  them  under  the  tree,  and 
they  ate. 

9  And  they  said  to  him  :  Where  is  Sarah  thy  wife  ?  And 
10  he  said  :  Behold,  in  the  tent.      And  he  said  :  I  will  surely 

V.  3.  My  Lord.  He  recognizes  the  chief  personage,  on  whom  the  other  two  are  attendants, 
and  salutes  him  with  the  title  commonly  used  in  addressing  a  person  of  distinction. 

V.  4.  As  only  sandals  were  worn  on  the  feet,  it  was  an  essential  part  of  eastern  hospitality 
to  provide  water  for  washing  the  feet  of  the  guest.  Compare  ch.  19  :  2,  43  :  24;  Judges  19  :  21. 

V.  5.  For  therefore  do  ye  pass  by  your  servant;  that  is,  turn  aside  to  his  home  on  your  way. 
It  was  accounted  an  honor  and  a  privilege  to  entertain  a  stranger,  and  was  accepted  as  a  favor 
conferred  by  him.  Hence  Abraham's  words,  "  for  therefore  do  ye  pass  by  your  servant,"  are  a 
courteous  acknowledgment  of  the  honor  intended  him. 

V.  6.  Seah+a,  dry  measure,  supposed  to  be  one-third  of  the  ephah  (Ruth  2  :  17,  13),  or  about 
one  peck  and  a  half. 

Hearth-ca'kes ;  cakes  baked  on  the  hearth  (not  in  an  oven),  either  under  hot  embers,  or  on 
heated  stones.* 

V.  8.  Card.  In  ancient  times,  the  people  of  the  east  used  milk  in  its  natural  state,  curdled 
milk  (curd),  and  the  same  with  the  whey  pressed  out  (cheese,  Prov.  30  :  33,  properly,  the 
pressing  of  milk  brings  forth  cheese),  and  cream  (Psalm  55  :  21,  in  the  common  English  version, 
butler).  At  the  present  day,  they  separate  the  fatty  particles  of  the  milk  from  the  whey  and 
the  caseine,  by  agitation  in  a  common  water-skin,  which  is  partly  filled  with  milk  and  suspend- 
ed from  a  frame,  and  is  then  regularly  moved  to  and  fro  with  a  jerk,  till  the  separation  is 
effected. f    But  of  such  a  practice  in  ancient  times  there  is  no  sure  indication. 

V.  9.  They  said ;  a  common  and  very  natural  indefiniteness  of  expression  in  familiar  and 
unstudied  narrative.  The  question  proceeded  from  the  party  of  guests  ;  but  which  of  them  was 
the  speaker  is  not  indicated.    That  it  was  the  chief  personage  may  be  inferred  from  v.  I ). 

V.  10.  And  he  said;  namely,  he  who  appeared  to  him  (v.  1)  in  the  person  of  his  principal 
guest.    Compare  v.  13. 

*  As  is  still  practiced  in  the  east.  "  The  women  in  some  of  the  tents  were  kneading  bread, 
and  biking  it  in  thin  cakes  in  the  embers  or  on  iron  plates  over  the  fire." — Robinson,  Biblical 
Rescrches,  vol.  ii.,  p.  ISO. 

t  Rohi), son's  Biblical  Researches,  vol.  ii.,  p.  ISO.  See  also  the  American  edition  of  Smith's 
Bible  Dictionary,  addition  to  the  article  Butter. 

73 


Chap.  xvni.  GENESIS. 


return  to  thee  at  the  reviving  season ;  and  behold,  Sarah 
thy  wife  shall  have  a  son.  And  Sarah  was  listening  at  the 
door  of  the  tent ;  and  that  was  behind  him. 

11  And  Abraham  and  Sarah  were  old,  far  gone  in  years. 
It  had  ceased  to  be  with  Sarah  after  the  manner  of  women. 

12  And  Sarah  laughed  within  herself,  saying :  After  I  am  de- 
cayed, shall  I  have  pleasure,  my  lord  being  old  also  ? 

13  And  Jehovah  said  to  Abraham  :  Wherefore  is  this,  that 
Sarah  laughed,  saying  :  Is  it  even  so,  that  I  shall  indeed 

u  bear,  when  I  am  old?  Is  anything  too  hard  for  Jehovah? 
At  the  set  time  I  will  return  to  thee,  at  the  reviving  sea- 
son, and  Sarah  shall  have  a  son. 

15  And  Sarah  denied,  saying  :  I  did  not  laugh.  For  she 
was  afraid.     And  he  said  :  Nay,  but  thou  didst  laugh. 

16  And  the  men  rose  up  from  thence,  and  looked  toward 
Sodom.  And  Abraham  went  with  them,  to  bring  them  on 
the  way. 

17  And  Jehovah  said  :  Shall  I  conceal  from  Abraham  what 

18  I  am  about  to  do  ;  seeing  that  Abraham  shall  surely  be- 
come a  great  and  mighty  nation,  and  all  the  nations  of  the 

19  earth  shall  be  blessed  in  him?     For  I  have  known  him,  in 

At  the  reviving  season;  when  this  season  revives,  returns  again,  after  passing  away  witli  thB 
departing  year.  By  a  beautiful  and  natural  figure,  the  seasons  of  the  year  are  conceived  as 
dying  out  and  passing  away  with  it,  and  as  reviving  again  with  the  succeeding  one. 

The  expression  corresponds  to  the  one  used  in  ch.  17  :  21,  "at  this  set  time  in  the  following 
year;"  namely,  when  this  set  time,  or  season,  returns. 

V.  12.  Laughed  within  herself ;  a  secret  feeling  of  the  incongruity  of  the  promise  with  tha 
actual  circumstances  of  the  case.  Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  17  :  17.  There  may  have  been 
here  more  of  doubt  and  distrust,  as  seems  to  be  intimated  by  the  grave  but  mild  rebuke  that 
follows. 

V.  13.  Jehovah  said.  The  reader  is  now  apprised  that  it  is  Jehovah  who  is  speaking.  This 
was  clearly  understood  by  Abraham,  though  we  are  not  told  in  what  manner  it  was  made  known. 
He  interprets  her  thought  in  language  that  expresses  its  full  import. 

V.  15.  The  statement,  I  did  not  laugh,  was  true  in  the  sense  intended,  namely,  that  there 
was  no  outward  expression  of  laughter.  The  reply,  "  Nay,  but  thou  didst  laugh,"  showed  her 
that  one  was  dealing  with  her  who  knew  her  inmost  thoughts. 

V.  16.  Looked  toward  Sodom ;  took  the  way  leading  to  that  city.— To  bring  them  on  the  way 
(see  the  remark  on  ch.  12  :  20).  He  accompanied  them  as  an  expression  of  respect  and  court- 
esy, and  perhaps  to  act  as  their  guide. 

VV.  17-2-5.  On  the  way,  the  chief  personage,  in  whom  Jehovah  manifested  himself,  resolves 
to  impart  to  Abraham  his  purpose  respecting  Sodom ;  and  the  reasons  for  this  special  mark  of 
confidence  are  assigned  in  vv.  18, 19. 

V.  19.  I  have  known  him.  Here,  and  often  elsewhere,*  to  know  has  the  special  meaning,  to 
regard,  to  make  an  object  of  attention  and  care;  by  implication,  to  make  choice  of  for  one's 

*  Compare  Amos  3:2,"  you  only  have  Iknown,  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth. 

14 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xvm. 


order  that  'he  may  command  his  children  and  his  house 
after  him,  and  they  may  keep  the  way  of  Jehovah,  to  do 
righteousness  and  justice  ;  that  Jehovah  may  bring  upon 
Abraham  that  which  he  has  spoken  of  him. 

20  And  Jehovah  said  :  Because  the  cry  of  Sodom  and  Go- 

21  morrah  is  great,  and  because  their  sin  is  very  grievous,  I 
will  go  down  now,  and  will  see  whether  they  have  done 
altogether  according  to  the  cry  of  it  that  is  come  to  me  ; 
and  if  not,  I  will  know. 

22  And  the  men  turned  from  thence,  and  went  toward 
Sodom  ;  and  Abraham  stood  yet  before  Jehovah. 

23  And  Abraham  drew  near,  and  said  :  Wilt  thou  even  take 
u  away  the  righteous  with  the  wicked?      Perhaps  there  are 

fifty  righteous  in  the  midst  of  the  city.      Wilt  thou  even 

take  away  and  not  spare  the  place,  for  the   sake   of  the 

25  fifty  righteous  within  it?     Far  be  it  from  thee  to  do  after 

this   manner,  to  slay  the   righteous  with   the   wicked,  that 

V.  20.     Or,  the  cry  against 

self  and  admit  to  near  and  intimate  relationship.  Compare  James  2  :  3,  "  and  he  was  called, 
Friend  of  God."    The  purpose  of  this  choice  is  stated  in  the  following  words. 

V.  20.  Jehovah  said.  He  now  declares,  in  the  hearing  of  Abraham,  the  purpose  of  his 
coming. 

The  cry  of  Sodom  ;  namely,  of  the  abominations  committed  there ;  the  name  of  the  place  put 
for  what  belongs  to  it  and  especially  characterizes  it. 

This  is  commonly  understood  as  meaning,  the  c>-y  concerning'Sodom  (as  in  the  margin,  the 
cry  against  Sodom).  But  the  more  natural  construction  and  meaning  is,  that  their  own  acta 
cry  to  heaven  against  them.  Compare  Isaiah  50  :  12,  "  our  sins  testify  against  us,"  and  Jer. 
14  :  7,  "  our  iniquities  testify  against  us." 

V.  22.  The  two  subordinate  personages  depart,  and  proceed  on  their  way  to  Sodom  (ch.  19  : 
1),  and  Abraham  remains  standing  before  Jehovah. 

From  the  place  where  they  now  stood  (ch.  19  :  27,  28)  Abraham  beheld,  on  the  following 
morning,  the  smoke  that  rose  from  the  doomed  cities.  An  eminence,  distant  about  an  hour  and 
a  half  eastward  from  Hebron  where  Abraham  dwelt  (compare  v.  1  of  this  chapter  with  ch.  13  : 
18),  commands  a  remote  view  of  the  region  of  the  Dead  Sea.* 

W.  23-32.     Abraham's  intercession  on  behalf  of  the  righteous  in  Sodom. 

Abraham  infers  what  may  be  the  fate  of  the  city,  from  what  he  knows  of  the  character  of  its 
people. 

There  is  no  parallel,  even  in  sacred  history,  to  the  scene  which  follows.  With  earnrstness, 
but  with  unaffected  humility,  devout  courtesy,  and  a  reverent  freedom,  the  patriarch  presses 
his  suit  on  behalf  of  the  few  righteous  men  in  Sodom.  On  the  other  hand,  Jehov;ih  receives  the 
intercession  of  his  servant  graciously,  and  admits  the  reasonableness  of  his  plea  by  granting  all 
that  he  desires. 

Abraham  begins  with  the  very  moderate  supposition,  that  there  may  be  fifty  righteous  in  the 
City.  There  is  a  beautiful  aptness  in  the  turn  given  to  the  first  plea  for  a  slight  abatement  of 
this  number:  "Wilt  thou  for  five  destroy  the  whole  city?"  The  whole  passage  is  singularly 
felicitous  and  beautiful,  in  conception  and  expression. 

*  Robinson,  Biblical  Researches,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  188,  189,  and  p.  449,  note. 

75 


Chap,  xel  GENESIS. 


the  righteous  should  be  as  the  wicked  ;  far  be  it  from  thee. 
Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  ? 

26  And  Jehovah  said  :  If  I  shall  find  in  Sodom  fifty  right- 
eous in  the  midst  of  the  city,  then  I  will  spare  all  the 
place  on  their  account. 

27  And  Abraham  answered  and  said  :  Behold  now,  I  have 
taken  upon  me  to  speak  to  my  Lord,  and  I  am  dust  and 

28  ashes.  Perhaps  the  fifty  righteous  will  lack  five.  "Wilt 
thou  for  five  destroy  the  whole  city  ?  And  he  said  :  I  will 
not  destroy  it,  if  I  shall  find  there  forty  and  five. 

29  And  yet  again  he  spoke  to  him,  and  said :  Perhaps  there 
will  forty  be  found  there.  And  he  said :  I  will  not  do  it 
for  the  sake  of  the  forty. 

30  And  he  said  :  Let  not  my  Lord  be  angry,  I  pray,  and  I 
will  speak.  Perhaps  there  will  thirty  be  found  there. 
And  he  said  :  I  will  not  do  it,  if  I  shall  find  thirty  there. 

31  And  he  said :  Behold  now,  I  have  taken  upon  me  to 
speak  to  my  Lord.  Perhaps  there  will  be  twenty  found 
there.  And  he  said  :  I  will  not  destroy  it  for  the  sake  of 
the  twenty. 

32  And  he  said  :  Let  not  my  Lord  be  angry,  I  pray,  and  I 
will  speak  but  this  once.  Perhaps  there  will  ten  be  found 
there.  And  he  said  :  I  will  not  destroy  it  for  the  sake  of 
the  ten. 

33  And  Jehovah  went  away,  when  he  had  finished  talking 
to  Abraham  ;  and  Abraham  returned  to  his  place. 

1  And  the  two  angels  came  to  Sodom  at  evening ;  and 
Lot  was  sitting  in  the  gate  of  Sodom.  And  Lot  saw,  and 
rose  up  to  meet  them  ;  and  he  bowed  with  his  face  toward 

2  the  earth.  And  he  said  :  Behold  now,  my  Lords,  turn 
aside,  I  pray,  into  the  house  of  your  servant,  and  pass  the 

V.  33.    Jehovah  weyd  away.    See  ch.  19  :  24. 

Ch.  19.    Sodom  destroyed.     Deliverance  of  Lot  and  his  family.    Origin  of  Moab  and  Ammon. 

V.  1.  Arid  the  two  angels  came  to  Sodom.  The  definite  article  (the  two  angels)  shows  that 
these  are  the  two  personages  already  spoken  of  in  ch.  18  :  22,  as  being  then  on  their  way  to 
Sodom.  They  still  appear,  however,  as  men  (vv.  10, 12),  and  as  such  are  received  and  enter- 
tained by  Lot. 

V.  2.     Wash  your  feet.    Compare  the  remark  on  ch.  18  :  i. 

76 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xn. 


night,  and  wash  your  feet ;  and  ye  shall  rise  up  early,  and 
go  on  your  way.      And  they  said  :  Nay,  for  we  will  pass 

3  the  night  in  the  street.  And  he  pressed  them  very  earn- 
estly j  and  they  turned  aside  to  him,  and  entered  into  his 
house  ;  and  he  made  them  a  feast,  and  baked-  unleavened 
cakes,  and  they  ate. 

4  Before  they  lay  down,  men  of  the  city,  men  of  Sodom, 
surrounded  the  house,  both  young  and  old,  all  the  people 

6  from  the  farthest  limit.  And  they  called  to  Lot,  and  said 
to  him :  Where  are  the  men  who  came  in  to  thee  this 
night  ?     Bring  them  out  to  us,  that  we  may  know  them. 

6  And  Lot  went   out  to   them,  to   the  doorway,  and  shut 

7  the  door  behind  him.      And  he  said  :  Do  not,  I  pray,  my 

8  brethren,  do  wickedly.  Behold  now,  I  have  two  daughters, 
who  have  not  known  a  man  ;  let  me,  I  pray,  bring  them 
out  to  you,  and  do  to  them  as  is  good  in  your  eyes.  Only 
to  these  men  do  nothing  ;  for  therefore  came  they  under 
the  shadow  of  my  roof. 

9  And  they  said  :  Stand  back.  And  they  said  :  This  one 
came  in  to  sojourn,  and  he  will  needs  be  judge.  Now  will 
we  deal  worse  with  thee  than  with  them.  And  they 
pressed  hard  upon  the  man,  upon  Lot,  and  came  near  to 

10  break  the  door.  And  the  men.  put  forth  their  hand,  and 
drew  Lot  into  the  house  to  them  ;  and  they  shut  the  door. 

11  And  the  men  that  were  at  the  door-way  of  the  house  they 
smote  with  blindness,  both  small  and  great;  and  they 
wearied  themselves  to  find  the  door-way. 

12  And  the  men  said  to  Lot :  Whom  else  hast  thou  here  ? 
Son-in-law,  and  thy  sons,   and  thy  daughters,  and  all  that 

13  thou  hast  in  the  city,  bring  out  from  this  place.  For  we 
are  about  to  destroy  this  place,  because  their  cry  is  great 


V.  4.  What  follows  shows  the  justice  of  the  impending  catastrophe,  that  so  suddenly  and 
utterly  consumed  the  city  and  its  guilty  inhabitants.  The  men  who  surrounded  Lot's  house 
were  not  gathered  from  some  single  infected  district  of  the  city,  but  "  all  the  people  from  the 
farthest  limit"  were  represented  there.  The  ten  righteous  men,  whose  presence  would  have 
saved  the  city,  were  not  found. 

V.  12.  Son-in-law;  in  case  thou  hast  any,  is  implied  in  the  form  of  expression.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  says,  "  thy  sons  and  thy  daughters,"  as  Lot  was  known  to  have  them. 

V.  13.     Their  cry.    See  the  remark  on  ch.  18  :  20. 


Chap.  xis.  GENESIS. 


in'  the  presence  of  Jehovah ;  and  Jehovah  has  sent  us  to 
destroy  it. 

14  And  Lot  went  out,  and  spoke  to  his  sons-in-law,  who 
married  his  daughters,  and  said :  Arise,  go  forth  from  this 
place  ;  for  Jehovah  is  about  to  destroy  the  city.  And  he 
was  as  one  that  jested  in  the  eyes  of  his  sons-in-law. 

15  And  when  dawn  arose,  the  angels  hastened  Lot,  saying : 
Arise,  take  thy  wife,  and  thy  two  daughters  who  are  at 
hand,  lest  thou  be  consumed  in  the  iniquity  of  the  city. 

16  And  he  lingered  ;  and  the  men  laid  hold  on  his  hand, 
and  on  the  hand  of  his  wife,  and  on  the  hand  of  his  two 
daughters,  through  Jehovah's  compassion  for  him,  and  they 
brought  him  forth  and  set  him  without  the  city. 

17  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  they  had  brought  them  forth 
abroad,  that  he  said  :  Escape  for  thy  life  ;  look  not  behind 

•  thee,  and  stay  not  in  all  the  plain  j  escape  to  the  mount- 
ain, lest  thou  be  consumed. 

18  And    Lot   said    to    them :   Not    so,   I    pray,  my  Lord. 

19  Behold  now,  thy  servant  found  favor  in  thy  sight,  and 
thou  hast  magnified  thy  kindness,  which  thou  didst  show 
me,  in  saving  my  life  ;  and  as  for  me,  I  can  not  escape  to 

20  the  mountain,  lest  the  evil  overtake  me,  and  I  die.  Be- 
hold now,  this  city  is  near  to  flee  thither,  and  it  is  a  little 
one.  Let  me,  I  pray,  escape  thither,  (is  it  not  a  little 
one  ?)  and  my  soul  shall  live. 

21  And  he  said  to  him  :  Behold,  I  have  accepted  thee  in 
this  thing  also,  that  I  will  not  overthrow  the  city  of  which 

22  thou  hast  spoken.      Haste,   escape  thither ;  for  I   can   do 

V.  15.  Who  are  at  hand;  in  distinction  from  his  married  daughters,  who  were  residing  with 
their  husbands,  and  chose  to  remain  with  them. 

V.  16.  He  lingered ;  unwilling  to  leave  so  many  whom  he  loved,  and  who  could  not  be  per- 
suaded to  go. 

V.  17.     To  the  mountain  ;  in  the  mountain  range  of  Moab.    See  the  remark  on  v.  30. 

V.  ID.  The  relations  of  time  are  accurately  distinguished  in  this  verse,  and  should  not  be 
overlooked  by  the  reader.  Thy  servant  found  favor  (namely,  at  the  first,  in  being  selected  as 
an  object  of  the  divine  compassion)  and  thou  hast  magnified  thy  kindness  (in  this  present  won- 
derful deliverance),  which  thou  didst  show  (at  the  first,  in  purposing  to  save  me).  In  saving 
my  life  is  connected  in  sense  with  least  magnified  thy  kindness. 

The  evil;  the  threatened  evil,  which  was  about  to  fall  upon  the  city.  Since  it  wonld  extend 
over  "  all  the  plain''  (as  intimated  in  v.  17)  Lot  feared  it  might  overtake  him  before  he  could 
reach  the  mountain.    He  therefore  pleads  for  a  nearer  refuge. 

18 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xel 


nothing  until  thou  come  thither.      Therefore  the  name  of 
the  city  was  called  Zoar. 

23  The  sun  came  forth  upon  the  earth  as  Lot  entered  into 

24  Zoar.     And  Jehovah  rained  upon  Sodom  and  upon  Gomor- 

25  rah  brimstone  and  fire  from  Jehovah  out  of  heaven.  And 
he  overthrew  those  cities,  and  all  the  plain,  and  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  cities,  and  that  which  grew  from  the 
ground. 

26  And  his  wife  looked  back  from  after  him,  and  she  be- 
came a  pillar  of  salt. 

27  And  Abraham  got  up  early  in  the  morning  to  the  place 

28  where  he  stood  before  Jehovah.  And  he  looked  out  to- 
ward Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  toward  all  the  land  of  the 
plain,  and  saw,  and  behold,  the  smoke  of  the  land  went  up 
as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace. 

V.  22.    Zoar ;  meaning  little. 

VV.  23-25.  The  sacred  writer  records  in  these  few  lines,  with  characteristic  brevity,  a  catas- 
trophe that  has  made  its  mark  indelibly  on  the  face  of  the  earth  and  on  human  history. 

The  record  has  a  fearful  significance ;  showing  with  what  ease  He  who  controls  the  elements 
"  turned  to  ashes  the  cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,"  and  "  made  them  an  example  of  those 
who  should  afterward  live  ungodly."  If  we  had' always  access,  as  we  have  here,  to  his  secret 
oounsels,  we  should  read  in  all  such  occurrences  a  like  purpose  and  a  similar  lesson. 

V.  26.  Looked  back.  This  is  evidently  a  mild  form  of  expression,  implying  more  than  is 
directly  said.*  Instead  of  following  close  upon  her  husband's  steps,  she  turned  her  face  toward 
the  home  she  unwillingly  left,  and  while  he  barely  escaped  the  storm,  she  was  overtaken  by  it 
and  perished. 

Became  a  pillar  of  salt.  It  is  not  said  that  she  was  changed  into  that  substance;  but,  in- 
crusted  with  it,  she  became  "  a  pillar  of  salt."    See  the  remarks  below. 

VV.  27,  28.  To  the  place  where  he  stood ;  a  distance  of  about  an  hour  and  a  half  from  hi3 
abode  in  Hebron.  See  the  remark  on  ch.  18  :  22.  From  this  eminence  the  modern  traveler  has 
a  distant  view  of  the  region  of  the  Dead  Sea ;  and  Abraham,  standing  there,  could  distinctly  see 
the  smoke  of  the  land,  as  it  went  up. 


The  valley  of  the  Jordan  and  Dead  Sea  is  a  deep  chasm,  or  fissure,  in  the  rocky  crust  of  the 
earth, f  extending  in  length  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  from  the  slopes  of  Mount  Her- 
mon  to  the  plain  south  of  the  Dead  Sea,  with  a  breadth  of  from  five  to  twelve  miles.  The  depth 
of  this  wonderful  chasm  has  been  ascertained,  within  a  few  years,  by  scientific  measurement. 
At  the  surface  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  it  is  found  to  be  six  hundred  and  fifty-three  feet  below  the 
level  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea;  and  at  the  surface  of  the  Dead  Sea  it  is  thirteen  hundred  and 
sixteen  feet  below  that  level.  The  greatest  depth  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  thirteen  hundred  and  eight 
feet.  At  its  lowest  point,  therefore,  this  chasm  is  more  than  twenty-six  hundred  feet  below  the 
ocean  level4    It  i3  the  most  remarkable  of  the  natural  features  of  Palestine ;  and  scientific 

*  As  is  implied  also  in  the  Savior's  use  of  her  example  (Luke  17  :  32),  as  a  warning  not  to 
"  turn  back." 

t  It  is  a  part  of  the  deep  and  broad  fissure  by  which  Syria  is  cleft  from  north  to  south,  ex- 
tending from  Antioch  to  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Red  Sea. 

%  "  The  traveler  who  stands  on  the  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea  has  reached  a  point  nearly  as  far 
below  the  surface  of  the  ocean  as  the  miners  in  the  lowest  levels  of  the  deepest  mines  of  Corn- 
wall."— Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Palestine  (3G). 

79 


Chap,  m  GENESIS. 


29       And  it  came  to  pass,  when  God  destroyed  the  cities  of 
the   plain,  that   God  remembered  Abraham,  and  he   sent 

observers  describe  it  as  the  most  extraordinary  depression  known  to  exist  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth. 

This  chasm  extends  onward,  though  not  at  the  same  depth,  to  the  northeastern  fork  of  the 
Eed  Sea,  the  Gulf  of  Akaba.  It  is  crossed  a  few  miles  south  of  the  Dead  Sea  by  a  line  of  cliffs, 
composed  of  chalky  earth,  varying  in  height  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Through 
this  barrier  breaks  the  great  water-course,  in  which  the  waters  of  this  chasm  flow  northward  to 
the  Dead  Sea  from  a  line  about  sixty  miles  to  the  south  of  it.  Beyond  that  the  water  flows 
southward  to  the  Red  Sea.  The  elevation  at  this  point  has  not  been  ascertained,  but  it  must  be 
considerably  above  the  lowest  level  of  the  Jordan ;  and  as  the  Red  Sea  has  nearly  the  same 
level  as  the  Mediterranean,  the  Jordan  could  never  have  flowed  onward  into  the  former,  with 
the  present  configuration  of  the  country. 

This  vast  chasm,  moreover,  is  evidently  of  the  same  age  to  which  the  present  general  con- 
figuration of  the  earth's  surface  belongs.  This  clearly  appears  in  the  condition  of  the  strata 
upheaved  and  broken  by  the  forces  that  produced  the  chasm,*  and  in  all  the  geological  features 
of  the  country.  It  is  the  unanimous  conclusion  of  the  most  eminent  naturalists,  that  within  the 
whole  historic  period  of  the  earth,  since  its  occupation  by  man,  the  Jordan  has  flowed  into 
what  is  now  the  Dead  Sea,  at  nearly  its  present  level,  though  probably  with  more  limited  extent 
of  surface. f 

But  at  the  period  to  which  this  chapter  refers,  the  sea,  and  the  face  of  the  country  in  ita 
vicinity,  were  greatly  changed  by  some  convulsion  of  nature.:}:  There  are  evidences  of  volcanic 
action;  and  among  them,  besides  small  fragments  of  sulphur,  nitre,  and  pumice-stone,  occa- 
sionally found,  are  immense  quantities  of  fossil  salt,  either  in' large  masses  at  single  localities, § 
or  spread  over  the  surface  of  the  plains. 

The  Dead  Sea  is  forty-six  miles  in  length,  and  is  of  very  uniform  width,  its  greatest  breadth 
being  a  little  more  than  ten  miles.  At  about  one-fourth  of  the  distance  from  its  southern  ex- 
tremity, it  is  nearly  crossed  by  a  low  peninsula  from  the  eastern  side,  dividing  the  northern 
from  the  southern  portion  ;  and  while  the  former  is  more  than  thirteen  hundred  feet  deep,  at 
its  greatest  depression,  the  latter  has  a  depth  of  only  about  thirteen  feet  of  water.  The  north- 
ern portion  is  in  the  form  of  a  deep  basin,  descending  rapidly  on  all  sides  to  a  great  depth, 
while  the  southern  portion  is  an  extensive  flat  covered  with  shallow  water.  This  flat  plain  con- 
tinues onward  from  the  southern  margin  of  the  sea,  with  a  gradual  and  very  slight  change  of 
elevation ;  so  slight  that  when  the  sea  is  swollen  a  few  feet  by  the  winter  rains,  the  water  over- 
flows it  to  a  distance  of  two  or  three  miles. ||  It  is  probable  that  the  sea  once  occupied  only  the 
basin  which  forms  its  northern  part,  and  that  its  waters  have  by  some  cause  been  made  to  over- 
flow the  low  plain  at  its  southern  extremity. 

There  is  evidence  of  the  existence  of  bitumen  beneath  this  southern  portion  of  the  sea.  When 
its  bed  is  violently  disturbed  and  broken  up,  as  by  the  earthquake  in  1834,  and  by  another  in 
1837,  considerable  quantities  of  bitumen  are  brought  to  the  surface,  and  even  in  large  masses, 

*  "  Caused  by  the  forcible  rending  and  falling  in  of  the  aqueous  strata,  resulting  from  the 
eruption  and  elevalion  of  the  basalt  which  bases  it  almost  from  its  commencement  to  the  Dead 
Sea."— Newbold,  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xvi.,  art.  ii.,  p.  23. 

f  "  The  changes  which  occurred  when  the  limestone  strata  of  Syria  were  split  by  that  vast 
fissure  which  forms  the  Jordan  Valley  and  the  basin  of  the  Salt  Lake,  must  not  only  have  taken 
place  at  a  time  long  anterior  to  the  period  of  Abraham,  but  must  have  been  of  such  a  nature 
and  on  such  a  scale  as  to  destroy  all  animal  life  far  and  near."— Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art. 
Sodom,  vol.  iii.,  p.  1341. 

|  There  need  be  no  apprehension  that  the  reality  of  the  miracle,  in  the  destruction  of  these 
cities,  will  be  affected  by  ascribing  it  to  the  agency  of  the  elements  of  nature,  which  are  all 
under  the  control  and  at  the  bidding  of  their  Maker.  The  miracle  consists,  not  in  the  material 
agency  employed,  but  in  the  evidence  of  a  divine  power  present  and  directing  it;  and  this  evi- 
dence is  furnished  in  the  whole  account  of  this  transaction,  in  chs.  18,  19. 

§  Near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  sea  is  a  huge  pile,  from  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  high,  and  five  geographical  miles  in  length,  the  whole  body  of  which  is  "a  solid  mass  of 
rock-salt."—  Robinson's  Biblical  Researches,  vol.  ii.,  p.  482. 

||  Robinson's  Biblical  Researches,  vol.  ii.,  p.  672. 

80 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xrx. 

Lot  out  of  the  midst  of  the  overthrow,  when  he  overthrew 
the  cities  in  which  Lot  dwelt. 

And  Lot  went  up  out  of  Zoar,  and  dwelt  in  the  mount- 
ain, and  his  two  daughters  with  him  ;  for  he  feared  to 
dwell  in  Zoar.  And  he  dwelt  in  a  cave,  he  and  his  two 
daughters. 


but  always  in  this  southern  portion  of  the  sea.*  This  accords  with  the  statement  in  ch.  14  :  3, 
that  the  "  vale  of  Siddim"  (said  in  v.  10  to  be  "  full  of  bitumen-pits")  is  the  "  Salt  Sea ;"  the  sea, 
in  its  present  extent,  covering  what  was  once  the  vale  of  Siddim. t 

From  the  earliest  times  to  which  the  tradition  can  be  traced,  when  the  localities  of  this 
region  were  better  known  than  at  present,  and  names  and  places  now  obliterated  by  time 
were  familiar,  the  region  south  of  the  Dead  Sea  has  been  spoken  of  as  the  site  of  the  doomed 
cities.  With  this  agree  the  names  of  places  that  can  still  be  traced,!  and  the  present  features 
of  the  country,  combining  natural  sources  of  fertility  §  (compare  ch.  13  :  10)  with  a  desola- 
tion, such  as  the  sacred  writers  describe  in  speaking  of  the  site  of  those  cities  (Deut.  29  :  23; 
Zeph.  2  :  !)). 

Vestiges  of  these  cities  are  spoken  of,  as  then  existing,  by  writers  who  lived  near  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Christian  era.  A  recent  traveler  (De  Saulcy)  thinks  he  has  discovered  traces 
of  them.     But  his  views  have  not  been  confirmed  by  the  observations  of  others. 

V.  30.  Zoar  was  on  the  border  of  Moab  (as  attested  by  Jerome),  on  the  east  side  of  the  Dead 
Sea,  at  the  base  of  the  mountains  near  its  southern  extremity. || 

Feared  to  dwell  in  Zoar;  lest  a  fate  similar  to  that  of  Sodom  might  overtake  it,  which  he  may 
have  had  reason  to  apprehend  from  the  similar  character  of  its  inhabitants. 

Dwelt  in  a  cave;  in  the  limestone  formation  of  which  the  mountains  of  Moab  near  the  Dead 
Sea  chiefly  consist. 

*  "After  the  earthquake  of  1834,  a  considerable  quantity  was  found  floating  in  small  pieces, 
which  were  driven  ashore  and  gathered.  After  the  great  earthquake  of  January  1,  1837,  in 
which  Safed  was  destroyed,  a  large  mass  of  asphaltum  was  found  floating  in  the  water,— one 
Baid  like  a  house,  another  like  an  island, — to  which  the  Arabs  swam  off,  and  cut  it  up  with 
axes,  and  gathered  enough  to  sell  for  two  or  three  thousand  Spanish  dollars.  In  both  cases, 
the  asphaltum  was  found  in  the  southern  part  of  the  sea."— Robinson's  Biblical  Researches,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  672. 

t  The  author  of  the  article  "  Siddim,"  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  can  escape  this  conclusion 
only  by  assuming  the  statement  in  ch.  14  :  3,  "  that  is  the  Salt  Sea,"  to  be  a  misapprehension. 
But  setting  aside  the  inspiration  of  the  writer,  and  regarding  him  only  as  a  human  witness  to  an 
event  so  near  his  own  age,  we  can  hardly  question  that  he  was  better  informed  on  this  point 
than  we  are,  who  at  such  a  distance  of  time  can  only  infer  an  opinion  from  data  in  many  respects 
imperfect. 

Dean  Stanley  suggests  (Sinai  and  Palestine,  p.  289,  foot-note)  that  "  this  phrase  may  merely 
mean,  that  the  region  in  question  bore  both  names ;"  and  he  compares  "  En-Mishpat  which  is 
Kadesh,"  etc.  But  the  cases  are  quite  different.  There  is  here  a  change  of  character  as  well 
as  name  ;  what  was  a  vale  became  a  sea.  With  regard  to  what  he  there  justly  remarks  on  the 
meaning  of  emek  (translated  vale)  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  term  is  properly  applied  to  this 
region,  as  terminating  the  "long  and  broad  valley"  of  the  (modern)  'Arabah,  this  part  of  it 
bearing  the  specific  name  Emek  Siddim. 

X  "  The  cities  which  were  destroyed  must  have  been  situated  on  the  south  of  the  lake  as  it  then 
existed  ;  for  Lot  fled  to  Zoar  which  was  near  to  Sodom  ;  and  Zoar,  as  we  have  seen,  lay  almost 
at  the  southern  end  of  the  present  sea." — Robinson's  Biblical  Researdies,  vol.  ii.,  p.  G02. 

§  "  Even  to  the  present  day,  more  living  streams  flow  into  the  ghor  (valley)  at  the  south  end 
of  the  sea,  from  wadys  [ravines]  of  the  eastern  mountains,  than  are  to  be  found  so  near  together 
in  all  Palestine ;  and  the  tract,  although  now  mostly  desert,  is  still  better  watered,  through 
these  streams  and  by  the  many  fountains,  than  any  other  district  throughout  the  whole  country." 
— Robinson  (as  above). 

H  Robinson's  Biblical  Researches,  vol.  ii.,  p.  C49,  last  paragraph. 
p  81 


Chap.  xx.  GENESIS. 


31  And  the  firstborn  said  to  the  younger  :  Our  father  is 
old,  and  there   is  no   man  in  the  earth  to  come  in  to  us 

32  after  the  manner  of  all  the  earth.  Come,  let  us  make  our 
father  drink  wine,  and  we  will  lie  with  him,  that  we  may 
preserve  a  seed  from  our  father. 

33  And  they  made  their  father  drink  wine  that  night.  And 
the  firstborn  went  in,  and  lay  with  her  father  ;  and  he 
knew  not  when  she  lay  down,  and  when  she  arose. 

34  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  morrow,  that  the  firstborn 
said  to  the  younger  :  Behold,  I  lay  yesternight  with  my 
father.  Let  us  make  him  drink  wine  this  night  also  ;  and 
do  thou  go  in  and  lie  with  him,  that  we  may  preserve  a 
seed  from  our  father. 

86  And  they  made  their  father  drink  wine  that  night  also. 
And  the  younger  arose,  and  lay  with  him ;  and  he  knew 

36  not  when  she  lay  down,  and  when  she  arose.  And  both 
the  daughters  of  Lot  were  with  child  by  their  father. 

37  And   the  firstborn  bore  a  son,  and  she  called  his  name 

38  Moab.  He  is  the  father  of  Moab  to  this  day.  And  the 
younger,   she    also   bore   a   son,  and   she  called  his  name 

•  Ben-ammi.  He  is  the  father  of  the  children  of  Amnion  to 
this  day. 


1       And  Abraham  removed  from  thence  toward  the  south 
country,    and    dwelt   between   Kadesh   and    Shur,    and   he 

VV.  31-36.  The  conduct  of  the  two  daughters  shows  the  fearful  influence  of  familiarity  with 
vice.  They  had  grown  familiar  with  it  in  its  vilest  forms,  till  they  were  capable  of  the  most 
revolting  crime  themselves. 

VV.  31,  32.     Is  old ;  and  (as  is  implied)  will  not  marry  again,  to  continue  the  race. 

To  preserve  a  seed  from  our  father;  so  that  the  family  may  not  become  extinct. 

VV.  37,  38.  Father  of  Moab  to  this  day.  The  idea  is,  that  he  is  represented  to  this  day  in  the 
Moabites,  of  whom  he  was  the  father. 

Ben-ammi ;  meaning,  son  of  my  people,  an  indication  of  her  solicitude  for  the  preservation  of 
the  race. 

Thus  originated  the  Moabites  and  Ammonites,  among  whom  prevailed  the  most  horrible  and 
revolting  abominations  of  heathenism.  The  record  was  preserved  here,  apparently,  for  two  im- 
portant ends  :  first,  to  show  the  fearful  dangers  from  the  social  influences  to  which  Lot  exposed 
his  family  by  dwelling  in  Sodom;  and  secondly,  to  deepen  and  perpetuate,  in  the  minds  of 
God's  people,  their  horror  of  the  abominations  practiced  among  these  heathen  nations,  by 
associating  their  origin  with  this  unnatural  crime. 

Ch.  20.    Abraham's  sojourn  in  the  land  of  the  Philistines. 

V.  1.     The  south  country.    See  the  note  on  ch.  12  :  9,  second  paragraph. 
[    Dwelt,  etc.    The  meaning  is,  he  dwelt  in  the  tract  of  country  lying  between  Kadesh  and  Shux 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xx. 


2  sojourned  in  Gerar.  And  Abraham  said  of  Sarah  his 
wife  :  She  is  my  sister.  And  Abimelech,  king  of  Gerar, 
sent  and  took  Sarah. 

3  And  God  came  to  Abimelech  in  a  dream  by  night,  and 
said  to  him  :  Behold,  thou  diest,  on  account  of  the  woman 
whom  thou  hast  taken  ;  for  she  is  married  to  a  husband. 

4  And  Abimelech  had  not  come  near  her.      And  he  said  : 
6  Lord,  wilt  thou  slay  even  a  righteous  nation  ?     Did  not  he 

himself  say  to  me :  She  is  my  sister  ?     And  she,  she  herself 
also  said  :  He  is  my  brother.     In  the  integrity  of  my  heart, 
and  in  the  innocency  of  my  hands  have  I  done  this. 
6       And  God  said  to  him  in  a  dream :  I  myself  also  knew  that 

(occupied  it  for  pasture-grounds),  and  sojourned  (abode  for  a  time,  as  a  passing  stranger)  in 
the  city  of  Gerar. 

Kadesh;  see  the  remark  on  ch.  14  :  7,  second  paragraph.  Sliur;  see  the  remark  on  ch.  16  :  7, 
Becond  paragraph. 

Gerar  (ch.  10  :  19),  an  ancient  city  of  the  Philistines  (see  ch.  21  :  34;  26  :  1),  lying  to  the 
Bouth  of  Gaza,  near  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

V.  2.    She  is  my  sisttr.    See  the  remarks  on  ch.  12  :  13. 

Sent  and  took  Sarah.  Sarah  had  not  borne  children,  and  all  the  circumstances  of  her  life  had 
been  favorable  to  the  preservation  of  a  matronly  comeliness  to  an  advanced  age*  There  is 
nothing,  therefore,  incredible  in  the  narrative.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  assume,  with  a  very  able 
biblical  interpreter,!  that  Abimelech  was  not  induced  by  her  personal  appearance  to  add  her  to 
his  household,  but  by  the  desire  to  form  an  alliance  by  marriage  with  Abraham;  a  supposition 
for  which  the  narrative  furnishes  no  ground. 

VV.  3-7.  The  case  stands  thus.  Abimelech  had,  without  knowing  the  extent  of  the  injury 
lie  was  doing,  taken  to  himself  the  wife  of  another  man.  A  great  wrong  was  done  ;  but,  as  to 
the  full  extent  of  it,  unintentionally  and  in  ignorance. f  The  evil  is  arrested  by  divine  interpo- 
sition ;  and  he  is  apprised  both  of  the  extent  of  the  wrong,  and  of  its  fatal  consequences  to 
himself  if  persisted  in.  At  the  same  time  the  assurance  is  given  him  of  safety,  on  his  making 
restitution,  and  at  the  intercession  of  the  injured  party;  thus  recognizing,  at  once,  the  law  of 
redress  and  of  forgiveness.  He  must  seek  and  obtain  the  forgiveness  and  intercession  of  the 
injured  party,  before  he  could  receive  forgiveness  from  God. 

Abimelech  pleads  that  he  was  innocent;  namely,  of  the  more  grievous  wrong  actually  though 
unintentionally  done.  His  plea,  thus  far,  is  admitted  ;  and  he  is  made  to  suffer  no  more  than  is 
necessary  to  arrest  the  injury,  unless  he  should  knowingly  persist  in  it. 

It  is  clear,  that  in  all  this  he  was  both  justly  and  tenderly  dealt  with.  For  though  guiltless  in 
intention  of  the  greater  crime,  yet  he  had  wrongfully  taken  that  which  was  not  his  own,  without 
the  owner's  consent.  It  was  one  of  the  arbitrary  acts  of  unrestricted  power,  so  common  where 
the  sovereign's  will  is  the  only  law,  appropriating  whatever  is  fancied,  without  so  much  as 
saying,  "  by  your  leave. ''§ 

God  interposes  effectually  on  behalf  of  his  injured  servant,  and  shows  the  peril  of  inflicting 
harm  on  his  chosen  ones.    On  this  and  similar  cases  (ch.  12  :  14-20),  compare  Psalm  109  :  14, 15. 

V.  6.  Withheld  thee  ;  by  the  illness  which  already  threatened  his  life  (v.  3),  and  is  spoken  of 
inv.  17. 

*  She  was  now  eighty-nine  years  of  age.    Compare  ch.  17  :  17,  21,  with  ch.  21  :  2. 

f  Delilzsch,  Commeutar  uber  die  Genesis,  3te  Ausg.,  p.  403. 

i  Compare  the  similar  case  of  the  apostle  Paul  (1  Tim.  1  :  13) ;  who  was  forgiven  a  still  greater 
offense,  and  for  a  like  reason. 

§  Abimelech's  self-justification  only  shows  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  relation  of  the  injured 
parties,  and  not  that  he  acted  with  the  approval  and  consent  of  either. 

83 


Chap,  jx  GENESIS. 


in  the  integrity  of  thy  heart  thou  didst  this  ;  and  I  with- 
held thee,  even  I  myself,  from  sinning  against  me.  There- 
fore I  did  not  permit  thee  to  touch  her.  Now  therefore 
return  the  man's  wife  ;  for  he  is  a  prophet,  and  he  will 
pray  for  thee,  and  thou  shalt  live.  And  if  thou  dost  not 
return  her,  know  that  thou  shalt  surely  die,  thou  and  all 
that  are  thine. 

And  Abimelech  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  called 
all  his  servants,  and  spoke  all  these  words  in  their  ears  ; 
and  the  men  feared  exceedingly. 

And  Abimelech  called  Abraham,  and  said  to  him :  What 
hast  thou  clone  to  us  ?  And  in  what  have  I  sinned  against 
thee,  that  thou  bringest  on  me  and  on  my  kingdom  a  great 
sin  ?  Deeds  that  should  not  be  done  hast  thou  done  with 
me. 

And  Abimelech  said  to  Abraham  :  What  sawest  thou, 
that  thou  didst  this  thing  ? 

11  And  Abraham  said  :  Because  I  thought,  surely  there  is 
no   fear   of  God   in   this   place,  and  they  will  slay  me  on 

12  account  of  my  wife.      And  also  in  truth  she  is  my  sister, 
the   daughter   of  my  father,   but  not  the  daughter  of  my 

13  mother  ;  and  she  became  my  wife.      And  it  came  to  pass, 
when  God  caused  me  to  wander  from  my  father's  house, 


10 


V.  7.  And  all  tliat  are  thine.  Such  is  the  course  of  Providence,  as  daily  observed  ;  and  such 
it  must  be  from  the  nature  of  the  social  laws  that  bind  households  and  communities  in  one.  In 
these  relations  men  often  suffer  for  wrongs  done  by  others ;  but  none  ever  suffer  to  the  extent 
of  their  own  deserts. 

V.  8.  Feared;  already  alarmed  by  the  sickness  that  had  invaded  the  household  of  the  king 
(v.  17),  and  now  still  more  by  its  declared  origin  in  the  displeasure  of  a  Deity  able  to  inflict  such 
a  penalty. 

VV.  9-11.  Abimelech  appears  to  great  advantage  in  all  this  transaction,  with  the  single  ex- 
ception of  his  arbitrarily  taking  possession  of  the  person  of  Sarah ;  and  even  this,  in  those  east- 
ern despotisms,  is  only  an  assertion  of  the  royal  prerogative.  How  much  of  the  magnanimity 
he  here  displays  is  due  to  the  severe  lesson  he  had  received,  is  uncertain  ;  but  it  is  evident,  from 
the  whole  account  of  him  in  this  chapter,  that  he  was  no  common  personage. 

Wh'it  sawest  thou,  that  thou  didst  this  thing?  The  meaning  is  not,  as  some  suppose,  what 
hadst  thou  in  view  (what  was  thy  intention)  in  doing  this;  but  rather,  what  didst  thou  see,  in 
the  character  of  the  people,  in  the  customs  of  the  country,  that  led  thee  to  take  this  course? 
To  this  Abraham's  words  in  the  following  verse  are  a  direct  answer. 

I  thought,  etc.  There  is  no  ground  for  supposing  that  in  this  he  was  mistaken,  and  that  there 
was  not  sufficient  occasion  for  the  apprehension  he  felt.  The  consideration  with  which  he  was 
afterward  treated  by  Abimelech  was  very  probably  due  to  the  divine  interposition  on  his  behalf. 
Compare  ch.  21  :  22. 

V.  12.  Daughter  of  my  father.  See  the  note  on  ch.  12  :  13.  The  word  daughter,  like  the 
word  son,  is  often  used  with  this  latitude  of  meaning. 

84 


GENESIS.      .  Chap,  xxl 


that  I  said  to  her  :  This  is  thy  kindness  which  thou  shalt 
show  me  ;  at  every  place  whither  we  shall  come,  say  of 
me,  he  is  my  brother. 

14  And  Abimelech  took  sheep,  and  oxen,  and  men-servants, 
and     maid-servants,    and    gave    them    to    Abraham,    and 

15  returned  to  him  Sarah  his  wife.'  And  Abimelech  said: 
Behold,  my  land  is  before  thee  ;  dwell  where  it  is  good 
in  thine  eyes. 

16  And  to  Sarah  he  said  :  Behold,  I  have  given  a  thousand 
pieces  of  silver  to  thy  brother.  Behold,  that  is  to  thee  a 
covering  of  the  eyes  fot  all  that  has  happened  with  thee 
and  with  all.     And  she  was  redressed. 

17  And  Abraham  prayed  to  God  ;  and  God  healed  Abime- 
lech, and  his  wife,  and  his  handmaids,  and  they  bore  chil- 

18  dren.  For  Jehovah  had  fast  closed  up  every  womb  of  the 
house  of  Abimelech,  because  of  Sarah,  Abraham's  wife. 

1  And  Jehovah  visited  Sarah  as  he  had  said;  and  Jehovah 

2  did  to  Sarah  as  he  had  spoken.     And  Sarah  conceived,  and 

V.  1G.     Or,  he  is  to  thee         lb.     Or,  for  all  that  are  with  thee         lb.     Or,  was  reproved 

V.  16.  A  covering  of  the  eyes.  By  this  is  meant  a  peace-offering,  as  an  expiation  or  atone- 
ment for  an  offense ;  namely,  a  gift  or  present  to  hide  a  fault  from  the  view  of  the  offended 
party.  So  Jacob  says  (ch.  32  :  20) :  "  1  will  cover  his  face  with  the  present;"  that  is,  will  hide 
my  fault  from  his  view, — in  other  words,  will  appease  him. 

To  thy  brother,  he  says,  delicately  concealing  his  knowledge  of  their  true  relation. 

And  wih  all;  because  all  in  her  household  shared  in  the  dishonor  of  their  mistress. 

According  to  the  marginal  reading,  the  meaning  is :  "  He  (Abraham,  thy  husband)  is  to  thee 
a  covering  of  the  eyes  for  all  that  are  with  thee,"  to  protect  thee  from  the  unlawful  gaze  of 
others.    And  she  was  reproved  ;  namely,  for  not  availing  herself  of  that  protection. 

This  conception  of  the  passage,  though  expressive  of  far  less  delicacy  on  the  part  of  Abime- 
lech, is  in  itself  b'>th  striking  and  just.  But  there  seems  to  be  one  decisive  objection  to  it; 
namely,  that  in  this  view,  the  words  with  which  Abimelech  commences  this  remark  to  Sarah 
("  Behold,  I  have  given  a  thousand  pieces  of  silver  to  thy  brother")  have  no  significance  'aa 
addressed  to  her.* 

V.  17.  His  wife.  In  countries  where  a  plurality  of  wives  is  allowed,  one  is  often  designated 
as  the  wife,  in  distinction  from  the  others,  who  are  also  wives,  but  in  a  subordinate  relation. 

Ch.  21.  Birth  of  Isaac.  Hagar  and  Ishmael  sent  away.  Covenant  between  Abraham  and 
Abimelech. 

V.  1.  Visited  Sarah.  God  is  said  to  visit  one,  when  he  specially  manifests  his  presence, 
either  in  kindness  or  severity.  For  instances  of  the  former,  see  ch.  50  :  24,  Ruth  1:6.1  Sam. 
2  :  21,  Jer.  29  :  10,  Zeph.  2  :  7 ;  of  the  latter,  Job  35  :  15,  Psalm  59  :  5,  Isaiah  26  :  14,  Jer.  9  :  9, 
49  :  8,  Amos  3  :  U. 

As  lie  had  said.    See  chs.  17  :  21 ;  18  :  10, 14. 

*  In  the  article,  "  Covering  of  the  Eyes"  (Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  American  edition)  I  have 
given  a  summary  of  the  various  interpretations  of  the  difficult  phraseology  in  this  passage. 

85 


Chap,  xxl  GENESIS. 


bore  to  Abraham  a  son  in  his  old  age,  at  the  set  time  of 

which  God  had  spoken  with  him. 
8       And  Abraham  called  the  name  of  his  son  that  was  born 
4  to  him,  whom  Sarah   bore  to  him,  Isaac.      And  Abraham 

circumcised   Isaac  his  son,    when   eight   days  old,  as  God 
8  commanded  him.     And  Abraham  was  a  hundred  years  old, 

when  Isaac  his  son  was  born  to  him. 

6  And  Sarah  said  : 

God  has  prepared  for  me  laughter  ; 
Every  one  that  hears  will  laugh  with  me. 

7  •     And  she  said  : 

Who  tells  to  Abraham, 
Sarah  nurses  children  ? 
For  I  have  borne  a  son  to  his  old  age. 

8  And  the  child  grew,  and  was  weaned.      And  Abraham 
made  a  great  feast  on  the  day  that  Isaac  was  weaned. 

9  And  Sarah  saw  the  son  of  Hagar  the  Egyptian,  whom 

10  she  bore  to  Abraham,  making  sport.  And  she  said  to 
Abraham  :  Drive  out  this  handmaid  and  her  son  ;  for  the 
son  of  this  handmaid  shall  not  be  heir  with  my  son,  with 
Isaac. 

11  And  the  thing  was  very  grievous  in  the  eyes  of  Abra- 
ham, on  account  of  his  son. 

12  And  God  said  to  Abraham  :  Let  it  not  be  grievous  in 
thine  eyes,  on  account  of  the  lad,  and   on   account  of  thy 

V.  7.     Or,  a  son  of  his  old  age. 

V.  3.    Isaac.    See  the  remark  on  ch.  17  :  19. 

V.  4.    As  God  commanded  him  ;  in  ch.  17  :  12. 

V.  6.  Has  prepared  for  me  laughter.  For  the  allusion  (to  the  name  Isaac)  see  the  note,  on 
ch.  17  :  19.  Will  laugh  with  me;  an  expression  of  joyful  surprise  and  wonder,  at  the  incredible 
and  yet  actual  event. 

V.  7.  Who  tells  to  Abraham.  In  the  excess  of  her  joyful  triumph,  she  imagines  that  it  will 
be  a  coveted  honor  to  be  the  bearer  of  the  happy  message.* 

In  the  Oriental  mind,  whenever  feeling  rises  above  its  ordinary  tone  it  expresses  itself,  as  here, 
In  the  poetic  form. 

V.  9.  Making  sport;  of  the  new  household  wonder,  as  is  evident  from  the  indignation  it 
excited. 

V.  12.  Hearken  to  her  voice ;  as  the  instrument  in  God's  providence  of  accomplishing  his  own 
purpose,  expressed  in  ch.  16  :  12. 

*  "  Who  would  have  said"  (common  English  version)  is  not  authorized  by  the  Hebrew  form 
Of  the  verb,  and  the  sentiment  is  tame  and  fiat  compared  with  the  true  sense. 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxl 


handmaid.     In  all  that  Sarah  says  to  thee,  hearken  to  her 

13  voice  ;  for  in  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called.  And  also  the 
son  of  the  handmaid,  I  will  make  him  a  nation  ;  for  he  is 
thy  seed. 

14  And  Abraham  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  took 
bread,  and  a  water-skin,  and  gave  it  to  Hagar,  putting  it 
on  her  shoulder,  and  the  child,  and  sent  her  away.  And 
she  went,  and  wandered  in  the  wilderness  of  Beer-sheba. 

15  And  the  water  was   spent  from  the  skin  ;  and  she  laid 

16  the  child  down  under  one  of  the  bushes.  And  she  went 
and  sat  down  over  against  him  a  good  way  off,  as  it  were 
a  bowshot.  For  she  said  :  Let  me  not  see  the  death  of 
the  child.  And  she  sat  over  against  him,  and  lifted  up 
her  voice  and  wept. 

17  And  God  heard  the  voice  of  the  lad.  And  an  angel  of 
God  called  to  Hagar  out  of  heaven,  and  said  to  her: 
What  ails  thee,  Hagar  ?     Fear  not ;  for  God  has  heard  the 

18  voice  of  the  lad,  where  he  is.  Arise,  lift  up  the  lad,  and 
hold  him  fast  in  thy  hand  ;  for  I  will  make  him  a  great 
nation. 

19  And  God  opened  her  eyes,  and  she  saw  a  well  of  water. 
And  she  went,  and  filled  the  skin  with  water,  and  gave 
the  lad  to  drink. 


V.  14.  Harsh  as  tbis  treatment  of  Hagar  appears,  Abraham's  conduct  is  not  to  be  blamed. 
Sarah's  demand  was  "very  grievous  in  his  sight"  (v.  11) ;  but  he  was  divinely  instructed  to 
comply  with  it  (v.  12). 

A  water-skin.  In  the  East,  water  and  other  liquids  are  carried,  on  a  journey,  in  the  skins  of 
animals.*  The  skin  is  stripped  whole  from  the  body  of  the  animal  (a  sheep,  goat,  or  kid),  after 
cutting  off  the  head  and  feet;  so  that  when  distended  with  any  liquid  it  has  the  form  of  the 
animal  from  which  it  is  taken. 

Beer-sheba.  For  the  origin  of  the  name  see  v.  31.  Abraham  was  now  residing  here,  on  the 
border  of  the  wilderness  in  which  she  wandered  ;  compare  vv.  22  and  31. 

By  wilderness  is  meant  a  region  better  fitted  for  pasturage  than  for  tillage,  and  for  that  rea- 
son suffered  to  remain  in  its  natural  wild  state.  Hence  the  English  name  ;  the  Hebrew  name 
meaning,  a  place  to  which  cattle  are  driven  for  pasturage. 

V.  17.     Where  he  is ;  where  he  now  lies,  helpless  and  perishing. 

V.  18.  Hold  him  fast  in  thy  hand ;  as  one  whose  duty  it  is  to  support  and  encourage  him, 
with  hopeful  confidence,  instead  of  yielding  to  despair  and  leaving  him  to  perish. 

V.  10.  Opened  her  eyes  ;  caused  her  to  perceive  what  she  was  not  before  aware  of,  namely, 
a  fountain  in  the  neighborhood  which  had  been  concealed  from  her  view. 

*  "  It  was  not  a  '  bottle,'  in  our  sense  of  the  word,  but  a  water-skin,  according  to  the  Hebrew, 
which  Abraham  took  and  placed  on  the  shoulder  of  Hagar,  when  he  sent  her  forth  into  the 
desert."—  Dr.  Hacketl's  Illustrations  of  Scripture,  8th  ed.,  p.  45. 

87 


Chap.  xxi.  GENESIS. 


20  And  God  was  with  the  lad  ;  and  he  grew,  and  dwelt  in 

21  the  wilderness,  and  became  as  he  grew  up  an  archer.  And 
he  dwelt  in  the  wilderness  of  Paran.  And  his  mother  took 
for.  him  a  wife  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt. 

22  And  it  came  to  pass  at  that  time,  that  Abimelech,  and 
Phichol  the  captain  of  his  host,  spoke  to  Abraham,  saying  : 

23  God  is  with  thee  in  all  that  thou  doest.  Now,  therefore, 
swear  to  me  here  by  God,  that  thou  wilt  not  deal  falsely 
with  me,  nor  with  my  son  nor  with  my  son's  son.  Ac- 
cording to  the  kindness  that  I  have  done  to  thee  shalt 
thou  do  to  me,  and  to  the  land  wherein  thou  hast  sojourn- 

u  ed.     And  Abraham  said  :  I  will  swear. 

25  And  Abraham  reproved  Abimelech  on  account  of  the 
well   of  water,  which  Abimelech's  servants  violently  took 

26  away.  And  Abimelech  said  :  I  know  not  who  did  this 
thing.  And  thou  also  hast  not  told  me  ;  and  I  also  have 
not  heard  it,  except  this  day. 

27  And  Abraham  took  sheep  and  oxen,  and  gave  them  to 
Abimelech  ;  and  they  two  made  a  covenant. 

28  And   Abraham   set   seven    ewe    lambs   of  the    flock   by 

29  themselves.  And  Abimelech  said  to  Abraham  :  What  are 
they,  these  seven  ewe  lambs  which  thou  hast  set  by  them- 

30  selves  ?  And  he  said  :  The  seven  ewe  lambs  thou  shalt 
take  from  my  hand,  that  they  may  be  for  me  a  witness 
that  I  dug  this  well. 

31  Therefore  he  called  that  place  Beer-sheba ;  because  there 
they  both  swore. 

V.  21.     Wilderness  of  Paran  ;  see  the  remark  on  ch.  14  :  6,  second  paragraph. 

W.  22-32.    Covenant  between  Abimelech  and  Abraham. 

Abimelech  proposes  a  covenant  of  peace  and  amity,  to  which  Abraham  assents.  But  before 
it  is  consummated,  Abraham  proposes  as  a  preliminary  step  (vv.  25,  26,  and  28-30)  to  settle  an 
existing  dispute,  lest  it  should  be  a  future  source  of  discord.  What  is  said  in  vv.  23,  24,  27,  31, 
32,  relates  to  the  covenant  proposed  by  Abimelech;  vv.  25,  26,  and  28-30  have  reference  to  the 
preliminary  step  required  by  Abraham. 

V.  27.  Abraham  shows  his  readiness  to  enter  into  this  league  of  amity,  by  making  the  cus- 
tomary present  from  the  party  immediately  benefited  by  it  (compare  1  Kings  15  :  19) ;  tha 
unmolested  use  of  Abimelech's  territory  (ch.  20  :  15)  being  an  immediate  benefit  to  Abraham, 
while  the  advantages  to  Abimelech  were  prospective  and  remote. 

VV.  28-30.  In  making  this  present,  Abraham  sets  apart  a  portion  of  it,  the  acceptance  of 
which  would  be  an  acknowledgment,  and  a  perpetual  witness,  of  his  right  to  the  well  in  dispute. 
:  V.  31.  Beer-sheba ;  well  of  the  oath,  or  (as  it  might  also  mean)  well  of  seven,  with  reference 
to  what  is  stated  in  vv.  28-30.' 

88 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxn. 

32  And  they  made  a  covenant  at  Beer-sheba.  And  Abime- 
lecli  rose  up,  and  Phichol  the  captain  of  his  host,  and  they 
returned  to  the  land  of  the  Philistines. 

33  And  he  planted  a  grove  in  Beer-sheba  ;  and  he  called 
there  on  the  name  of  Jehovah,  the  eternal  God. 

34  And  Abraham  sojourned  in  the  land  of  the  Philistines 
many  days. 

1  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  God  tried 
Abraham.     And  he  said  to  him  :  Abraham  !     And  he  said  : 

2  Here  I  am.  And  he  said  :  Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only 
one,  whom  thou  lovest,  Isaac,  and  go  to  the  land  of 
Moriah  ;  and  offer  him  there  for  a  burnt-offering  upon  one 
of  the  mountains  of  which  I  will  tell  thee. 

About  twenty  five  miles  south  of  Hebron,  near  the  southern  border  of  Palestine,  modern  trav- 
elers find  two  very  deep  wells,  about  two  hundred  yards  apart.*  They  mark  the  site  of  the  an- 
cient town  of  Beer-sheba,  and  the  place  so  often  the  temporary  abode  of  the  ancient  patriarchs.! 

Ch.  22.    Abraham  is  commanded  to  offer  up  Isaac.     Family  of  Nahor. 

As  a  tr'al  of  Abraham's  faith  in  God,  and  of  his  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  he  is  required  to 
offer  up  his  son  for  a  burnt-offering. 

It  was  no  part  of  the  divine  purpose,  as  is  evident  from  the  sequel,  that  this  bloody  sacrifice 
should  be  accomplished.  The  requirement  was  made  as  a  test  of  Abraham's  faith  and  obedi- 
ence ;  and  it  was  made  for  his  sake,  that  he  might  more  fully  know  himself,  and  in  what  relation 
he  stood  to  the  Divine  Being.-  On  the  moral  purpose  and  uses  of  such  a  test,  see  the  remarks 
on  ch.  2  :  17,  fifth  and  sixth  paragraphs. 

V.  1.  Tried.  So  the  Hebrew  word  is  properly  expressed  in  2  Chron.  32  :  31,  "  God  left  him, 
to  try  him." 

V.  2.  Land  of  Moriah  ;  the  region  or  district  of  Moriah.  According  to  2  Chron.  3  :  1,  the 
eminence  on  which  Solomon's  temple  was  built  was  called  mount  Moriah.  The  name  does  not 
occur  elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  the  ancient  name  by  which 
the  region  was  known  to  Abraham.^  The  objections  urged  by  some  recent  biblical  critics§  are 
not  decisive  against  the  earlier  view. 

*  "  The  larger  one  is  twelve  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter,  and  forty-four  and  a  half  feet  deep 
to  the  surface  of  the  water;  sixteen  feet  of  which  at  the  bottom  is  excavated  in  the  solid  rock. 
The  other  well  lies  fifty-five  rods  west-southwest,  and  is  five  feet  in  diameter  and  forty-two  feet 
deep.  The  water  in  both  is  pure  and  sweet,  and  in  great  abundance  ;  the  finest  indeed  we  had 
found  since  leaving  Sinai.  Both  wells  are  surrounded  witli  drinking-troughs  of  stone  for  camels 
and  flocks;  such  as  were  doubtless  used  of  old  for  the  flocks  which  then  fed  on  the  adjacent 
hills.  The  curb-stones  are  deeply  worn  by  the  friction  of  the  ropes  in  drawing  up  water  by 
hand." — Robinson's  Biblical  Researches,  vol.  i.,  p.  300. 

t  "  Here  then  is  the  place  where  the  patriarchs  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  often  dwelt,  and 
here  Abraham  dug  perhaps  this  very  well.  .  .  .  Over  these  swelling  hills  the  flocks  of  the 
patriarchs  once  roved  by  thousands,  wher3  now  we  found  only  a  few  camels,  asses,  and  goats." 
—Robinson,  as  above,  p.  302. 

X  "  The  name  is  very  ancient,  and  the  chroniclist  has  revived  it,  as  he  has  much  else  belong- 
ing to  the  ancient  treasures  of  the  language."— Dddzsch,  Commentar  uber  die  Genesis,  3te 
Ausg.,  p.  415. 

§  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Moriah  ;  Stanley's  Sinai  and  Palestine,  2d  ed.„  p.  2.51.  The 
grounds  in  favor  of  the  earlier  view  are  very  satisfactorily  stated  by  Knobel  {die  Genesis 
erkliirt,  2te  Aufl.,  p.  191). 

89 


Chap.  xxn.  GENESIS. 


3  And  Abraham  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  saddled  his 
ass,  and  took  his  two  servants  with  him,  and  Isaac  his 
son  ;  and  he  cleaved  the  wood  for  a  burnt-offering  ;  and 
he  rose  up,  and  went  to  the  place  of  which  God  told  him. 
*  On  the  third  day  Abraham  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw 
6  the  place  afar  off.  And  Abraham  said  to  his  servants  : 
Do  ye  remain  here  with  the  ass  ;  and  I  and  the  lad  will 
go  yonder,  and  worship,  and  return  to  you. 

6  And  Abraham  took  the  wood  for  the  burnt-offering,  and 
laid  it  upon  Isaac  his  son  ;  and  he  took  in  his  hand  the 
fire  and  the  knife  ;  and  they  went  both  of  them  together. 

7  And  Isaac  spoke  to  Abraham  his  father,  and  said  :  My 
father  !  And  he  said  :  Here  am  I,  my  son.  And  he  said  : 
Behold  the  fire,  and  the  wood  ;  but  where  is  the  lamb  for 

8  a  burnt-offering  ?  And  Abraham  said  :  God  will  provide 
himself  the  lamb  for  a  burnt-offering,  my  son.  And  they 
went  both  of  them  together. 

9  And  they  came  to  the  place  of  which  God  told  him. 
And  Abraham  built  there  the  altar,  and  laid  the  wood  in 
order,  and  bound  Isaac  his  son,  and  laid  him  on  the  altar 
upon  the  wood. 

10  And   Abraham  stretched   forth  his  hand,   and  took  the 

11  knife  to  slay  his  son.      And  an  angel  of  Jehovah  called  to 

V.  4.  On  the  third  day.  The  distance  from  Beer-slieba  where  Abraham  dwelt  (v.  19),  to 
'.Jerusalem  is  a  little  over  fbrty  miles. 

Saw  the  place  afar  off.  To  the  view  stated  above,  that  mount  Moriah  was  the  place  of  the 
offering,  it  is  objected  that  this  eminence  is  not  visible  at  a  distance.*  But  the  locality  with 
which  it  is  connected  is  distinctly  visible  from  a  high  ridge  on  the  traveled  route,  at  a  distance 
of  about  three  miles. f 

There  seems  to  be  no  good  ground,  therefore,  for  setting  aside  the  view  of  the  older  interpret- 
ers, that  this  extraordinary  transaction  prefigured  a  far  more  important  event,  which  took  place 
on  the  same  spot.    In  this  view  it  has  a  significance  which  explains  and  justifies  it.$ 

*  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine  (as  above) :  "  There  is  no  elevation,  nothing  corresponding  to 
the  'place  afar  off,'  to  which  Abraham  '  lifted  up  his  eyes.'  "  The  words,  "  lifted  up,"  should 
not  have  been  italicised,  as  though  they  implied  a  looking  upward  to  an  elevated  object.  Per- 
sons are  said  to  lift  up  their  eyes  to  see  objects  on  a  level  with  them,  as  in  ch.  24  :  03,  04 ;  and 
Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  see,  from  the  heights  east  of  Bethel,  the  plain  of  the  Jordan  far  below 
him-(ch.  13  :  1C). 

t  "  Here"'  [on  the  ridge  of  Mar  Elyas]  "  we  got  our  first  view  of  the  Holy  City,— the  mosque 
and  other  high  buildings  standing  on  mount  Zion  without  the  walls."— Robinson's  Biblical 
Hesearc'ies,  vol.  i.,  p.  323. 

$  The  parallel  is  traced  by  Melito,one  of  the  earliest  Christian  writers  belonging  to  the  second 
century,  in  an  interesting  fragment  preserved  to  us  from  his  writings  in  the  catena  in  Genesin. 
^Bouth,  Reliqiuai Saerce,l.,  116,  and  Migne,  Patrologice  Cursus,  V.,  1215. 

90 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxn. 


him  out  of  heaven,  and  said  :  Abraham  !  Abraham  !  And 
u  he  said  :  Here  am  I.  And  he  said  :  Stretch  not  forth  thy 
hand  against  the  lad,  nor  do  anything  to  him.  For  now 
I  know  that  thou  fearest  God,  and  hast  not  withheld  thy 
son,  thine  only  one,  from  me. 

13  And  Abraham  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw,  and  behold  a 
ram  behind  him,  caught  in  the  thicket  by  his  horns.  And 
Abraham  went  and  took  the  ram,  and  offered  him  up  for 
a  burnt-offering,  in  place  of  his  son. 

14  And  Abraham  called  the  name  of  that  place  Jehovah- 
jireh.  As  it  is  said  at  this  day  :  In  the  mount  of  Jehovah 
it  will  be  provided. 

15  And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  called  to  Abraham  a  second 

16  time  out  of  heaven,  and  said  :  By  myself  have  I  sworn, 
says  Jehovah,  that  because  thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and 

17  didst  not  withhold  thy  son,  thine  only  one,  I  will  greatly 
bless  thee,  and  will  greatly  multiply  Jthy  seed  as  the  stars 
of  heaven,  and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea  shore  ; 

18  and  thy  seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies.  And 
in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed  ; 
because  thou  hast  hearkened  to  my  voice. 

19  And  Abraham  returned  to  his  servants  ;  and  they  rose 
up  and  went  together  to  Beer-sheba  ;  and  Abraham  dwelt 
at  Beer-sheba. 

20  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  it  was  told 
to  Abraham,  saying  :  Behold,  Milcah,  she   has  borne  chil- 

21  dren  to  Nahor  thy  brother  ;   Uz  his  firstborn,  and  Buz  his 

22  brother,  and  Kemuel  the  father  of  Aram,  and  Chesed,  and 

V.  14.     Jehovah-jireh ;  meaning,  Jehovah  will  provide  (compare  v.  8). 

From  this  divine  interposition,  and  the  commemoration  of  it  in  this  memorial  name,  arose  the 
proverbial  saying,  "In  the  mount  of  Jehovalr'  (where  he  records  his  name,  Ex.  20  :  24)  "it 
will  be  provided."     He  will  not  be  called  upon  in  vain. 

W.  15-18.  Abraham  was  sustained  in  this  severe  trial  by  a  sublime  faith  in  the  rectitude 
and  wisdom  of  Him  who  required  the  sacrifice.  The  test  has  shown  him  to  be  a  true  represent- 
ative of  that  faiih  to  all  who  should  come  after  him ;  and  this  is  here  recognized  and  commem- 
orated in  the  solemn  repetition  of  the  promises  already  made. 

VV.  20-24.  A  brief  record  is  here  made  of  the  family  of  Nahor,  as  being  necessary  to  the 
understanding  of  the  subsequent  history.    Compare  ch.  11  :  29. 

It  was  told  to  Abraham.  On  this  knowledge  he  acted  in  selecting  a  wife  for  Isaac,  as  related 
in  ch.  24. 

She  also  has  borne  children  ;  alluding  to  the  birth  of  a  son  to  Sarah,  her  sister  or  sister-in-law. 

91 


Chap.  xxni.  GENESIS. 


23  Hazo,  and  Pildash,  and  Jidlaph,  and  Bethuel.      And  Beth- 
uel  begot  Rebekah. 

These  eight  did  Milcah  bear  to  Nahor,  Abraham's  broth- 

24  er.     And  his  concubine,  whose  name  was  Reumah,  she  also 
bore  Tebah,  and  Graham,  and  Thahash,  and  Maachah. 


1  And  the  life  of  Sarah  was  a  hundred  and  twenty-seven 

2  years,  the  years  of  the  life  of  Sarah.  And  Sarah  died  in 
Kirjath-arba  ;  that  is  Hebron  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  And 
Abraham  came  to  mourn  for  Sarah,  and  to  weep  for  her. 

3  And  Abraham  stood  up  from  before  his  dead,  and  spoke 

4  to  the  sons  of  Heth,  saying :  I  am  a  stranger  and  a  so- 
journer with  you.  Give  me  a  possession  of  a  burying- 
place  with  you,  that  I  may  bury  my  dead  out  of  my  sight. 

5  And   the   sons    of  Heth    answered   Abraham,  saying   to 

The  two  names  Uz  (not  Huz,  as  in  the  common  English  version),  and  Aram,  occur  in  the 
enumeration  of  fehem's  immediate  descendants,  in  ch.  10  :  22,  23.  The  former  is  the  name  of  a 
son  of  Aram  and  grandson  of  Shem  (ch.  10  :  23),  and  of  a  son  of  Nahor  (in  this  passage),  and 
of  a  son  of  Dislian  and  grandson  of  Seir  (ch.  3G  :  28),  and  of  the  country  of  Job  (Job  1  : 1).  It 
is  not  improbable,  therefore,  that  this  coincidence  of  names  indicates  a  "  fusion  of  various 
branches  of  the  Semitic  race  in  a  certain  locality."* 

Buz  was  ancestor  of  the  tribe  to  which  Elihu  the  Buzite  belonged  (Job  32  :  2). 

V.  24.  His  concubine.  A  concubine  was  a  wife,  though  of  a  rank  inferior  to  the  one  who 
properly  bore  the  name,  and  was  usually  of  servile  condition.  The  relation  was  inconsistent 
with  the  original  institution  of  marriage,  and  with  the  true  and  proper  relation  of  the  sexes. 
But  as  an  existing  civil  institution,  it  was  regulated  by  the  Mosaic  law  in  the  interest  and  for 
the  protection  of  the  weaker  party ,f  till  a  more  advanced  civilization  under  the  increasing 
influence  of  divine  truth  should  abolish  it.j 

Ch.  23.    Death  of  Sarah.    Purchase  of  the  field  and  cave  of  Machpelah  for  a  burying-place. 

V.  2.  Kirjath.-arba  (City  of  Arba§)  was  the  original  Canaanitish  name  of  the  place  after- 
ward called  Hebron;  compare  Joshua  14  :  15,  Judges  1  :  10.  In  its  vicinity  were  the  oaks  of 
Mamre  (ch.  13  :  18)  where  Abraham  often  dwelt,  and  where  he  was  now  dwelling,  having  left 
Beer-sheba. 

Came  to  mourn  for  Sarah  ;  namely,  to  the  place  appointed  for  the  public  ceremonial. 

VV.  3,  4.     Sons  of  Heth.    See  the  note  on  ch.  10  :  15-20,  third  paragraph. 

lam  a  stranger  and  a  sojourner  with  you,  explains  the  necessity  of  his  present  appeal  to 
them.  As  a  stranger,  and  not  a  citizen,  he  has  no  landed  possession  which  he  can  call  his  own 
and  permanently  occupy.  As  a  sojourner,  and  not  a  visitor  or  passing  traveler,  he  needs  a 
place  of  burial  for  his  dead.  A  possession,  etc.;  a  property  in  land,  for  a  burying-place. 

*  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  TJz,  where  further  evidences  of  this  are  given.  "  There  was 
an  old  Semitic  and  a  younger  Nahorite  Aram ;  there  was  an  old  Aramaean  and  a  younger  Nahor- 
ite  Uz.  Nahorites,  migrating  beyond  the  Euphrates,  blended  with  older  primitively  related 
races,  and  the  younger  mixed  races  shared  the  name  of  the  older."— Delitzscli,  Commentaruber 
die  Genesis,  3te  Ausg.,  p.  422. 

t  See  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Concubine,  and  Marriage,  I.,  third  paragraph. 

%  Compare  what  the  Savior  says,  on  an  analogous  case,  in  Matt.  19  :  8. 

§  Not  so  called  from  the  individual  of  that  name  mentioned  in  Joshua  14  :  15.  The  name  of 
the  place  was  of  earlier  origin ;  that  of  the  person  referred  to  was  either  derived  from  it,  or 
was  a  mere  coincidence. 

92 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxm. 


6  him  :  Hear  us,  my  lord.  Thou  art  a  prince  of  God  among 
us.  In  the  choice  of  our  sepulchres  bury  thy  dead.  None 
of  us  will  withhold  from  thee  his  sepulchre,  that  thou 
mayest  not  bury  thy  dead. 

7  And  Abraham  stood  up,  and  bowed  himself  to  the  peo- 

8  pie  of  the  land,  to  the  sons  of  Heth.  And  he  talked  with 
them,  saying  :  If  it  be  your  mind  to  bury  my  dead  out  of 
my  sight,  hear  me,  and  intercede  for  me  with  Ephron  son 

9  of  Zohar,  that  he  may  give  me  the  cave  of  Machpelah, 
which  is  his,  which  is  at  the  end  of  his  field.  For  the  full 
price  shall  he  give  it  me  in  the  midst  of  you,  for  a  pos- 
session of  a  burying-place. 

10  And  Ephron  was  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  sons  of 
Heth.  And  Ephron  the  Hittite  answered  Abraham  in  the 
hearing  of  the  sons  of  Heth,  of  all  that  enter  in  at  the  gate 

11  of  his  city,  saying  :  Nay,  my  lord,  hear  me.  The  field  I 
give  thee,  and  the  cave  that  is  therein,  to  thee  I  give  it ; 
in  the  sight  of  the  sons  of  my  people  I  give  it  thee  ;  bury 
thy  dead. 

12  '  And  Abraham  bowed  himself  before  the  people  of  the 
land.  And  he  spoke  to  Ephron  in  the  hearing  of  the 
people  of  the  land,  saying  :  But  if  thou  wilt,  pray  hear 
me.  I  give  the  price  of  the  field  ;  take  it  of  me,  and  I 
will  bur}'  my  dead  there. 

And   Ephron    answered    Abraham,   saying   to   him  :  My 


13 


W.  5,  G.  The  sons  of  Heth  address  him  as  a  "  prince  of  God  ;"  one  to  whom  God  has  given 
a  princely  rank  and  authority,  by  the  wealth  bestowed  on  him  and  the  number  of  his  servants 
and  dependents.     Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  12  :  5,  third  paragraph. 

VV.  7-9.  Abraham  courteously  declines  the  proffered  use  of  another's  sepulchre  for  the  burial 
of  his  dead. 

If  it  be  your  mind  to  bury  my  dead  ;  to  furnish  a  place  of  burial,  in  order  that  it  may  be  done, 
is  the  meaning. 

Cave  of  Machpelah.  The  field  and  the  cave  were  before  Mamre  (v.  17),  and  therefore  con- 
tiguous to  Abraham's  place  of  abode.  The  hills  of  Palestine,  being  a  limestone  formation, 
abound  in  caves;  and  these  were  often  used  as  places  of  burial. 

V.  10.  Hitiie  ;  the  gentilio  name  of  one  who  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  Heth.  Of  all  that  enter 
in  at  the  ga  e  of  his  city  ;  that  is,  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town.  It  is  called  his  city  because 
it  was  his  residence  ;  not,  as  some  suppose,  because  he  was  its  chief  or  magistrate. 

V.  13.  But  if  thou  wilt ;  meaning,  either,  wilt  part  with  the  field,  or,  as  is  more  probable, 
wilt  listen  to  my  request. 

VV.  14,  1.0.  With  admirable  delicacy,  Ephron  evades  and  at  the  same  time  complies  with 
Abraham's  desire,  that  he  would  name  the  purchase-money.  Instead  of  saying,  the  land  is 
worth  so  much  (as  in  the  common  Eng'ish  version,  where  the  delicate  turn  of  the  expression 
is  lost),  he  alludes  to  its  value  as  a  thing  too  inconsiderable  to'be  taken  into  account. 

93 


Chap.  xxrv.  GENESIS. 


15  lord,  bear  me.  Land  worth  four  hundred  shekels  of  silver, 
what  is  that  between  me  and  thee  ?     So  bury  thy  dead. 

16  And  Abraham  hearkened  to  Ephron.  And  Abraham 
weighed  to  Ephron  the  silver,  which  he  iiad  spoken  of  in 
the  hearing  of  the  sons  of  Heth,  four  hundred  shekels  of 
silver,  current  with  the  merchant. 

17  And  the  field  of  Ephron,  that  is  in  Machpelah,  which  is 
before  Mamre,  the  fielcl,  and  the  cave  that  is  therein,  and 
all  the  trees  that  are  in  the  field,  that  are  in  all  its  borders 

18  around,  were  made  sure  to  Abraham  for  a  possession,  in 
the  sight  of  the  sons  of  Heth,  among  all  that  enter  in  at 
the  gate  of  his  city. 

19  And  after  this,  Abraham  buried  Sarah  his  wife  in  the 
field  of  Machpelah  before  Mamre.     That  is  Hebron,  «in  the 

20  land  of  Canaan.  And  the  field,  and  the  cave  that  is 
therein,  were  made  sure  to  Abraham  for  a  possession  of  a 
buryiugr place,  from  the  sons  of  Heth. 

1  And  Abraham  was  old,  far  gone  in  years.  And  Jeho- 
vah blessed  Abraham  in  all  things. 

2  And  Abraham  said  to  his  servant,  the  elder  of  his 
house,  who  ruled  over  all  that  he  had  :  Put,  I  pray  thee, 

3  thy  hand  under  my  thigh  ;  and  I  .will  make  thee  swear  by 
Jehovah,  the  God  of  heaven  and  the  God  of  earth,  that 
thou  wilt  not  take  a  wife  for  my  son  of  the  daughters  of 

VV.  1G-20.  Hearkened ;  acceded  to  his  proposal,  implied  in  his  words.  The  whole  process  of 
the  sale  is  minutely  stated,  to  show  that  all  formalities  were  duly  observed  for  securing  the 
rightful  ownership  and  the  peaceful  occupation  of  ihe  place. 

V.  20.  From  the  sons  of  Heth.  It  was  owned  among  them,  by  a  member  of  their  tribe ;  and  it 
passed  from  their  possession  into  that  of  Abraham. 

Ch.  24.    Marriage  of  Isaac. 

VV.  2,  3.  The  elder  of  his  house;  that  is,  his  chief  servant,  the  head"  of  his  household,  who 
had  the  direction  of  all  his  affairs,  as  stated  in  the  following  clause,  "  who  ruled  over  all  that  he 
had."  Compare,  in  ch.  50  :  7,  "  the  servants  of  Pharaoh,  the  elders  of  his  house  ;"  that  is,  the 
high  officers  of  his  household,  who  were  at  the  head  of  its  several  departments.  Men  of  mature 
age  and  experience  were  required  in  these  offices,  and  hence  they  are  called  elders ;  and  thia 
became  a  title  of  official  rank  and  dignity. 

It  is  commonly  supposed,  though  without  any  special  ground  for  the  opinion,  that  this  con- 
fidential servant  was  the  Eliezer  spoken  of  in  ch.  15  :  2. 

Put  thy  hand  under  my  thigh ;  as  a  pledge  of  fidelity  to  the  required  promise.  Compare  ch. 
47  :  21),  30.  Among  many  ancient  nations  a  peculiar  sacredness  was  attached  to  this  act,  and  to 
a  promise  confirmed  by  it.  To  this  formal  pledge  was  sometimes  added  an  oath,  as  in  this  case 
(v.  3)  and  in  the  one  recorded  in  ch.  47  :  29-31. 

94 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxiv. 

4  the  Canaanites,  in  the  midst  of  whom  I  dwell.  But  thou 
glial t  go  to  my  land,  and  to  my  kindred,  and  take  a  wife 
for  my  son,  for  Isaac. 

6  And  the  servant  said  to  him  :  Perhaps  the  woman  will 
not  be  willing, to  follow  me  to  this  land.  Must  I  needs 
bring  thy  son  again  to  the  land  from  whence  thou  earnest? 

6       And  Abraham  said  to  him  :  Beware  that  thou  bring  not 

T  my  son  thither  again.  Jehovah,  the  God  of  heaven,  who 
took  me  from  my  father's  house,  and  from  the  land  of  my 
kindred,  and  who  spoke  to  me,  and  who  swore  to  me, 
saying  :  To  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land  ;  he  will  send 
his  angel  before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  take  a  wife  for  my 

8  son  from  thence.  And  if  the  woman  shall  not  be  willing 
to€b)llow  thee,  then  thou  shalt  be  clear  from  this  my 
oath  ;  only,  thou  shalt  not  bring  my  son  thither  again. 

9  And  the  servant  put  his  hand  under  the  thigh  of  Abra- 
ham his  master,  and  swore  to  him  concerning  this  matter. 

10  And  the  servant  took  ten  camels  of  the  camels  of  his 
master,  and  went ;  for  all  the  goods  of  his  master  were  in 
his  hand  ;  and  he  arose,  and  went  to  Mesopotamia,  to  the 
city  of  Nahor. 

11  And  he  made  the  camels  kneel  down  outside  of  the  city 
by  the   well   of  water,   at  the   time   of  evening,  the   time 

12  when  the  women  who  draw  water  go  forth.  And  he  said : 
Jehovah,  God  of  my  master  Abraham,  I  pray  thee,  pros- 
per  me   this   day,  and  show  kindness  to  my  master  Abra- 

13  ham.  Behold,  I  stand  by  the  fountain  of  water  ;  and  the 
daughters  of  the  men  of  the  city  come  out  to  draw  water. 

14  And  it  shall  be  that  the  damsel  to  whom  I  shall  say  :  In- 


V.  4.     To  my  land  and  to  my  kindred.    See  the  note  on  cli.  12  :  1-3,  third  paragraph. 

V.  10.  City  of  Nahor.  This  was  Haran,  as  appears  from  v.  29  compared  with  ch.  27  :  43. 
For  Haran,  see  the  note  on  ch.  11  :  31,  fourth  paragraph. 

V.  11.  lie  made  his  camels  kneel  down;  to  rest  themselves,  as  .they  were  to  proceed  no 
further.      9 

V>r  hen  tli.e  women  who  draw  water  go  forth.  Thi3  service  was  always  performed  by  women, 
as  is  still  the  case  in  the  East.  It  was  done  at  evening,  after  the  heat  of  the  day  was  past;  and 
enough  was  drawn  for  use  till  the  evening  of  the  following  day.  The  expression  in  v.  13,  "the 
daughters  of  the  men  of  the  city  come  out  to  draw  water,"  shows  that  they  were  not  servants, 
or  persons  of  inferior  rank. 

V.  14.     Incline  thy  pitcher— that  I  may  drink.     He  would  not  trouble  her  to  let  down  tho 

95 


Chap.  xxiv.  GENESIS. 


cline  thy  pitcher,  I  pray,  that  I  may  drink  ;  and  she  shall 
say :  Drink,  and  I  will  give  thy  camels  drink  also  ;  her 
thou  hast  appointed  for  thy  servant,  for  Isaac  ;  and  by 
this  I  shall  know  that  thou  showest  kindness  to  my  master. 

15  And  it  came  to  pass  before  he  had  do^ie  speaking,  that, 
behold,  Rebekah  came  out,  who  was  born  to  Bethuel,  son 
of  Milcah,  the  wife  of  Nahor  Abraham's  brother,  and  her 

16  pitcher  was  upon  her  shoulder.  And  the  damsel  was  of 
very  fair  countenance,  a  virgin,  and  a  man  had  not  known 
her.  And  she  went  down  to  the  fountain,  and  filled  her 
pitcher,  and  came  up. 

17  And  the  servant  ran  to  meet  her,  and  said :  Let  me 
swallow,  I  pray,  a  little  water  from  thy  pitcher. 

18  And  she  said  :  Drink,  my  lord.  And  she  haste^  and 
let  down  her  pitcher  upon  her  hand,  and  gave  him  drink. 

19  And  when  she  had  done  giving  him  drink,  she  said  :  I 
will  draw  for  thy  camels  also,  until  they  have  done  drink- 

20  ing.  And  she  hasted,  and  emptied  her  pitcher  into  the 
watering-trough,  and  ran  again  to  the  well  to  draw  ;  and 
she  drew  for  all  his  camels. 

81  And  the  man  was  attentively  observing  her,  and  holding 
his  peace,  to  know  whether  Jehovah  had  prospered  his 
way  or  not. 

22  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  camels  had  done  drink- 
ing, that  the  man  took  a  ring  of  gold,  half  a  shekel  was  its 

V.  21.     Or,  was  wondering  at  ber 

vessel  upon  her  hand,  but  would  drink  from  it  as  she  leaned  it  forward  upon  her  shoulder. 
Compare  the  remark  on  v.  18. 

V.  15.    Rebekah.    Compare  ch.  22  :  23. 

V.  1G.  Went  down  to  the  fountain.  This  is  also  called  a  well,  in  v.  11.  The  earth  around  a 
natural  fountain  was  sometimes  excavated  to  a  considerable  depth,  and  walled  up,  in  order  that 
a  sufficient  supply  of  water  might  be  collected.  When  the  well  was  not  deep,  steps  were  formed 
in  the  wall,  leading  down  to  the  water. 

V.  17.    Mark  the  modesty  of  the  request— just  a  swallow  of  water  from  her  pitcher ! 

V.  18.  Mark  also  the  courteous  compliance-  with  his  request.  She  does  not,  as  he  had 
modestly  proposed  to  himself  (v.  14),  lean  the  vessel  forward  that  he  might  drink  from  it  on 
her  shoulder.  With  the  courtesy  then  thought  to  be  due  to  a  stranger,  she  let  downnhe  pitcher 
from  her  shoulder,  and  presented  it  to  him  on  her  hand. 

Drink,  my  lord;  a  style  of  address  suited  to  the  character  in  which  he  appeared.  The  train 
of  camels  wiili  which  he  traveled  (v.  10),  and  of  servants  necessarily  attending  on  them,  indi- 
cated wealth  and  the  distinction  it  confers. 

V.  20.     Watering-trough.    Sec  the  remarks  on  ch.  21  :  31,  second  paragraph,  foot-note  (*). 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxiv. 


weight,    and  two   bracelets  for  her  hands,  ten   shekels  of 

23  gold  was  their  weight.  And  he  said  :  Whose  daughter  art 
thou  ?  Tell  me,  I  pray.  Is  there  in  thy  father's  house  a 
place  for  us  to  pass  the  night  ? 

24  And  she  said  to  him  :  I  am  the  daughter  of  Bethuel  the 
son  of  Milcah,  whom  she  bore  to  Nahor. 

25  And  she  said  to  him  :  We  have  both  straw  and  proven- 
der abundant,  and  a  place  to  pass  the  night. 

26  And  the  man  bowed  his  head,  and  worshiped  Jehovah. 

27  And  he  said  :  Blessed  be  Jehovah,  God  of  my  master 
Abraham,  who  has  not  let  his  kindness  and  his  truth 
depart  from  my  master.  I  was  in  the  way  ;  Jehovah  led 
me  to  the  house  of  my  master's  brethren. 

28  And  the  damsel  ran,  and  told  these  things  at  the  house 
of  her  mother. 

29  And  Rebekah  had  a  brother,  and  his  name  was  Laban. 

30  And  Laban  ran  to  the  man  without,  to  the  fountain.  And 
it  came  to  pass,  when  he  saw  the  ring,  and  the  bracelets 
on  his  sister's  hands,  and  when  he  heard  the  words  of 
Rebekah  his  sister,  saying,  thus  did  the  man  speak  to  me, 
that  he  came  to  the  man  ;  and  behold,  he  was  standing  by 

31  the  camels  at  the  fountain.  And  he  said  :  Come  in,  thou 
blessed  of  Jehovah.  Wherefore  dost  thou  stand  without  ? 
For  I  have  prepared  the  house,  and  a  place  for  the  camels. 

32  And  the  man  came  into  the  house.  And  he  ungirded 
the  camels,  and  gave  straw  and  provender  for  the  camels, 
and  water  to  wash  his  feet,  and  the  feet  of  the  men  that 

33  were  with  him.  And  food  was  set  before  him.  But  he 
said  :  I  will  not  eat,  until  I  have  told  my  message.  And 
he  said  :  Speak. 

34  35     And  he  said  :  I  am  Abraham's  servant.      And  Jehovah 

V.  28.     Or,  to.her  mother's  household. 

V.  27.  I  was  in  the  way,  a  stranger  and  wayfarer,  and  Jehovah  led  me  to  the  place  I  was 
Beeking. 

V.  29.  Ban  to  the  man  without.  This  is  said  in  anticipation  of  the  statement  in  the  next 
verse,  where  we  learn  the  reason  for  his  haste  to  welcome  the  stranger.  Laban  here  shows 
himself  true  to  his  character,  as  more  fully  exhibited  in  chs.  20-31. 

V.  32.  And  he,  meaning  Laban.  Water  to  wash  his  feet.  Compare  the  note  on  ch.  18  :  i.  <.. 
g  97 


Chap.  xxiy.  GENESIS. 


has  blessed  my  master  exceedingly,  and  he  is  become 
great ;  and  he  has  given  him  flocks  and  herds,  and  silver 
and  gold,  and  men-servants  and  maid-servants,  and  camels, 

36  and  asses.  And  Sarah,  my  master's  wife,  bore  a  son  to 
my  master  after  she  became  old  ;  and  he  has  given  him  all 
that  he  has. 

37  And  my  master  made  me  swear,  saying  :  Thou  shalt  not 
take  a  wife  for  my  son  of  the  daughters  of  the  Canaanites, 

38  in  whose  land  I  dwell.  But  thou  shalt  go  to  my  father's 
house,  and  to  my  family,  and  take  a  wife  for  my  son. 

39  And  I  said  to  my  master  :  Perhaps  the  woman  will  not 

40  follow  me.  And  he  said  to  me  :  Jehovah,  before  whom  I 
walk,  will  send  his  angel  with  thee,  and  will  prosper  thy 
way  ;  and  thou  shalt  take  a  wife  for  my  son  of  my  family, 

41  and  of  my  father's  house.  Then  shalt  thou  be  clear  from 
my  oath,  when  thou  comest  to  my  family  ;  and  if  they  will 
not  give  her  to  thee,  thou  shalt  be  clear  from  my  oath. 

42  And  I  came  this  day  to  the  fountain  ;  and  I  said  :  Jeho- 
vah, God   of  my  master  Abraham,    if  now   thou   wouldst 

43  prosper  my  way,  on  which  I  go  !  Behold,  I  stand  by  the 
fountain  of  water  ;  and  it  shall  be,  that  the  virgin  who 
comes  forth  to  draw  water,  and  I  say  to  her  :  Let  me,  I 

44  pray,  drink  a  little  \V.;ter  from  thy  pitcher  ;  and  she  shall 
say  to  me  :  Drink  thou,  and  I  will  draw  for  thy  camels 
also  ;  she  is  the  woman  whom  Jehovah  has  appointed  for 
my  master's  son. 

45  Before  I  had  done  speaking  in  my  heart,  behold,  Re- 
bekah  came  forth,  and  her  pitcher  was  on  her  shoulder  ; 
and  she  went  down  to  the  fountain,  and  drew  water.     And 

4d  I  said  to  her:  Let  me  drink,  I  pray.  And  she  hasted,  and 
let  down  her  pitcher  from  upon  her,  and  said  :  Drink,  and 
I  will  give  thy  camels  drink  also.  And  I  drank,  and  she 
gave  the  camels  drink  also. 

47  And  I  asked  her,  and  said  :  Whose  daughter  art  thou  ? 
And  she  said  :  The   daughter   of  Bethuel,    son    of  Nahor, 

V.  42-48.    A  beautiful  trait  in  this  charming  picture  of  Oriental  life  and  manners  is  the  variety 
of  form  and  expression  in  relating  the  same  occurrences;  first  as  given  by  the  narrator  himself 

98 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxiv. 


whom  Milcah  bore  to  him.     And  I  put  the  ring  upon  her 
face,  and  the  bracelets  upon  her  hands. 

48  And  I  bowed  my  head,  and  worshiped  Jehovah ;  and  I 
blessed  Jehovah,  God  of  my  master  Abraham,  who  led  me 
in  the  way  of  truth,  to  take  the  daughter  of  my  master's 
brother  for  his  son. 

49  And  now,  if  ye  will  deal  kindly  and  truly  with  my 
master,  tell  me  ;  and  if  not,  tell  me  ;  that  I  may  turn  to 
the  right  hand,  or  to  the  left. 

60  And  Laban  and  Bethuel  answered  and  said  :  The  thing 
proceeds  from  Jehovah  ;  we  can  not  speak  to  thee  evil  or 

51  good.  Behold,  Rebekah  is  before  thee  ;  take  her,  and  go, 
and  let  her  be  the  wife  of  thy  master's  son,  as  Jehovah 
has  spoken. 

52  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Abraham's  servant  heard  their 
words,  that  he  bowed  down  to  Jehovah,  to  the  earth. 

53  And  the  servant  brought  out  vessels  of  silver,  and  ves- 
sels of  gold,  and  garments,  and  gave  them  to  Rebekah. 
And  he  gave  precious  things  to  her  brother  and  to  her 
mother. 

64  And  they  ate  and  drank,  he  and  the  men  that  were 
with  him,  and  passed  the  night.  And  they  rose  up  in  the 
morning,  and  he  said  :  Send  me  away  to  my  master. 

65  And  her  brother  and  her  mother  said  :  Let  the  damsel 
abide   with   us   some    days,    perhaps   ten ;    after   that   she 

66  shall  go.  And  he  said  to  them  :  Delay  me  not,  since 
Jehovah  has  prospered  my  way.  Send  me  away,  that  I 
may  go  to  my  master. 

57       And   they  said  :  We  will   call   the    damsel,   and  let   us 

to  the  reader,  and  then  as  repeated  by  him  in  the  month  of  the  servant  to  his  little  company  of 
interested  listeners.  The  artless  variations  of  the  same  story  amuse  and  delight  without  weary- 
ing the  reader. 

V.  47.  Iput  the  ring  upon  her  face.  The  Hebrew  word  translated  ring  meant  both  ear-ring 
and  nose-ring.  It  has  the  former  meaning  in  ch.  35  :  4,  "  and  the  rings  which  were  in  their 
ears."  That  the  latter  is  meant  here  may  be  inferred  from  the  expression,  "upon  her  face." 
The  use  of  such  an  ornament  is  a  matter  of  taste,  and  seemed  to  them  as  suitable  as  the  wear- 
ing of  ear-rings  does  to  us. 

V.  50.  Evil  or  good;  that  is,  favorable  to  your  object  or  unfavorable.  In  other  words,  we 
have  nothing  to  say;  it  proceeds  from  Jehovah,  and  is  not  a  matter  for  us  to  decide.  He  haa 
already  determined  it. 

V.  56.    /Since  Jehovah  has  prospered  my  wag ;  since  all  is  accomplished  for  which  I  came,     j 


Chap.  xxiv.  GENESIS. 


68  inquire  at  her  mouth.  And  they  called  Rebekah,  and  said 
to  her  :  Wilt  thou  gov  with  this  man  ?  And  she  said  :  I 
will  go. 

69  And  they  sent  away  Rebekah  their  sister,  and  her  nurse, 

60  and  the  servant  of  Abraham,  and  his  men.  And  they 
blessed  Rebekah,  and  said  to  her  :  Thou  art  our  sister  ; 
do  thou  become  thousands  of  ten  thousands,  and  let  thy 
seed  possess  the  gate  of  those  who  hate  thee. 

61  And  Rebekah  arose,  and  her  maidens,  and  they  rode 
upon  the  camels,  and  followed  the  man.  And  the  servant 
took  Rebekah,  and  went. 

62  And  Isaac  had  come  from  a  journey  to  Beer-lehai-roi ; 

63  and  he  was  dwelling  in  the  south  country.  And  Isaac 
went  out  to  meditate  in  the  field,  at  the  coming  on  of 
evening.  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw,  and  be- 
hold camels  coming. 

64  And  Rebekah  lifted  up  her  eyes,   and  saw  Isaac  ;  and 

65  she  alighted  from  the  camel.  And  she  said  to  the  serv- 
ant :  Who  is  this  man,  that  is  walking  in  the  field  to 
meet  us  ?  And  the  servant  said  :  It  is  my  master.  And 
she  took  the  vail  and  covered  herself. 

66  And  the  servant  related  to  Isaac  all  the  things  that  he 
had  done. 

67  And  Isaac  brought  her  into  the  tent  of  Sarah  his  mother. 

V.  63.     Or,  to  mourn 

V.  60.  Thou  art  our  sister ;  and  therefore  shalt  go  with  our  prayers  and  blessings,— as 
expressed  in  the  words  that  follow. 

W.  62-67.    The  meeting  of  Isaac  with  Kebekah,  and  their  marriage. 

V.  62.  Beer-lehai-roi ;  see  ch.  16  :  14.  He  was  dwelling  in  the  south  country  (see  the  re- 
marks on  ch.  12  :  9,  second  paragraph),  and  therefore  not  far  from  the  well  of  that  name. 

V.  63.  To  meditate  in  thefirtd;  an  indication  of  the  contemplative  character  of  his  mind, 
averse  to  business  affairs,  and  unskilled  in  the  practical  concerns  of  life. 

In  the  margin  the  word  is  rendered,  to  mourn.  The  death  of  his  mother,  about  three  years 
before,  was  yet  fresh  in  his  remembrance,  and  a  touching  allusion  is  made  to  it  again  in  the  last 
clause  of  v.  67. 

VV.  64,  65.  Observing  the  approach  of  one  whose  appearance  indicated  wealth  and  rank, 
she  alighted  from  the  camel  as  an  expression  of  respect. 

On  learning  from  the  servant  who  it  was,  she  took  the  vail*  and  covered  herself.  This  was 
customary,  and  was  the  natural  dictate  of  true  delicacy.  The  first  recognition  of  the  bride  lie 
bad  never  seen  must  not  be  before  witnesses. 

V.  67.    She  was  conducted  to  the  tent  of  Sarah,  where  she  would  be  surrounded  by  the  at- 

*  That  part  of  the  complete  female  dress  is  meant,  and  hence  the  use  of  the  definite  article; 
not,  "  a  vail,"  as  though  it  was  no  necessary  part  of  the  full  female  equipment. 

100 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxv. 


And  he  took  Rebekah,  and  she  became  his  wife  ;  and  he 
loved  her.  And  Isaac  consoled  himself  after  the  death  of 
his  mother. 

1  And  again  Abraham  took  a  wife,  and  her  name   was 

2  Keturah.     And  she  bore  to  him  Zimran,  and  Jokshan,  and 

3  Medan,  and  Midian,  and  Ishbak,  and  Shuah.  And  Jokshan 
begot  Sheba,  and  Dedan.     And  the  sons  of  Dedan  were 

4  Asshurim,  and  Letushim,  and  Leummim.  And  the  sons  of 
Midian  ;  Ephah,  and  Epher,  and  Hanoch,  and  Abidah,  and 
Eldaah.     All  these  were  sons  of  Keturah. 

5  6     And  Abraham  gave  all  that  he  had  to  Isaac.      And  to 

tendants  of  the  former  mistress  of  the  household,  and  by  her  own  maidens  (v.  Gl)  who  accom- 
panied her  from  the  paternal  home. 

The  betrothal  had  taken  place  at  her  own  father's  house  (vv.  50,  51).*  The  marriage  con- 
sisted iti  the  ceremony  of  her  removal  to  the  home  of  her  husband,  and  his  recognition  of  her 
as  his  wife  and  the  mistress  of  his  household. 

Ch.  25  :  1-10.    Marriage  of  Abraham  with  Keturah.     His  death  and  burial. 

V.  1.  And  again  Abraham  took  a  wife.  Abraham  lived  seventy-five  years  after  the  birth  of 
Isaac,  or  about  thirty-eight  years  after  Sarah's  decease. 

From  the  order  of  the  narrative  we  should  naturally  infer  that  the  marriage  with  Keturah 
took  place  after  the  decease  of  Sarah.  But  in  1  Chron.  1  :  32  she  is  called  "Abraham's  concu- 
bine ;"  t  and  in  the  sixth  verse  of  this  chapter,  "the  concubines  which  Abraham  had"  are 
spoken  of  in  the  plural,  as  if  he  had  more  than  one.J  No  more  can  fairly  be  inferred  from  this, 
however,  than  that  Keturah,  though  a  wife,  was  not  by  birth  of  the  same  rank  and  dignity  as 
the  wife  by  the  first  marriage. 

VV.  2-4.  The  descendants  of  Keturah  seem  to  have  blended,  to  some  extent,  with  those  of 
Ishmael,  and  with  them  formed  the  roving  tribes  of  Arabia  and  the  adjacent  territory. 

Zimran;  found,  perhaps,  in  the  Zamereni,  in  the  interior  of  Arabia. 

SJieba  and  Dedan ;  pastoral  tribes  on  the  borders  of  Idumea,  perhaps  connected  with  the 
commercial  tribes  of  the  same  name,  descendants  of  Raamah  son,  of  Cush,§  on  the  Persian  Gulf 
(ch.  10  :  7,  note,  second  paragraph). 

Asshurim ,  Letushim,  and  Leummim  ;  names  of  Dedan's  sons,  with  the  Hebrew  plural  form 
(i/)i)  denoting  tribes  descended  from  them.     Compare  ch.  10,  note,  second  paragraph. 

Midian.  The  Midianites  occupied  the  wilderness  on  the  north  of  the  peninsula  of  Arabia, 
and  extended  northward  along  the  eastern  border  of  Palestine,  and  to  the  south  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  and  along  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Elanitic  Gulf. 

W.  5,  6.  Gave  all  that  lie  ?iad  to  Isaac ;  in  accordance  with  the  divine  purpose,  as  declared 
in  chs.  15  :  4,  17  :  8,  21  :  12. 

In  compliance  with  this  declared  purpose,  Abraham  took  the  precaution,  "while  he  yet 
lived,"  to  send  away  his  other  sons,  provided  with  the  means  of  independent  subsistence. 

*  Bethuel  acts  a  subordinate  part;  for  it  lies  in  the  nature  of  polygamy,  that,  in  the  divided 
interests  of  the  father,  a  brother  should  take  charge  of  the  special  rights  of  his  sister  by  the 
same  mother,  and  be  her  representative.— Tuch,  Kommfntar  iiber  die  Genesis,  p.  407. 

t  See  the  note  on  ch.  22  :  24. 

%  Hence  some  have  inferred  that  this  marriage  took  place  during  the  lifetime  of  Sarah ;  but 
apparently  on  insufficient  grounds.  Keil,  for  example,  in  addition  to  the  above  circumstances, 
suggests  that  the  youngest  of  Keturah's  sons  would  otherwise  have  been  too  immature  to  be 
dismissed  from  the  parental  care  and  oversight,  being  only  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  years  of 
*ge.—Biblischer  Commentar  uber  die  B'ucher  Mose's,  2te  Aufl.,  p.  193. 

§  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Sheba,  II.,  and  Dedan. 

101 


Chap.  xxv.  GENESIS. 


the  sons  of  the  concubines,  which  Abraham  had,  Abraham 
gave  gifts,  and  sent  them  away  from  Isaac  his  son,  while 
he  yet  lived,  eastward,  to  the  land  of  the  East. 

7  And  these  are  the  days  of  the  years  of  Abraham's  life 

8  which  he  lived,  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  years.  And 
Abraham  expired,   and  died  in  a  good  old  age,  old  and 

9  full.  And  he  was  gathered  to  his  people.  And  Isaac 
and  Ishmael,  his  sons,  buried  him  in  the  cave  of  Mach- 
pelah,   in  the  field  of  Ephron   son   of  Zohar  the  Hittite, 

10  which  is  before  Mamre  ;  the  field  which  Abraham  pur- 
chased from  the  sons  of  Heth.  There  was  Abraham  buried, 
and  Sarah  his  wife. 

11  And  it  came  to  pass  after  the  death  of  Abraham,  that 
God  blessed  Isaac  his  son.  And  Isaac  dwelt  by  Beer- 
lehai-roi. 

12  And  these  are  the  generations  of  Ishmael,  son  of  Abra- 
ham whom  Hagar  the  Egyptian,  Sarah's  maid-servant,  bore 

13  to  Abraham.  And  these  are  the  names  of  the  sons  of  Ish- 
mael, by  their  names,  according  to  their  generations  :  the 

Concubines.  See  the  remarks  on  v.  1.  Land  of  the  East ;  a  comprehensive  term  for  regions 
lying  eastward  from  Palestine,  including  Mesopotamia  and  Babylonia,  but  denoting  especially 
the  district  of  Arabia  and  the  wilderness  on  the  north  of  it. 

V.  8.  Full;  in  the  sense  of  sated,  satisfied  (as  when  one  has  had  enough),  as  in  Prov.  30  :  9, 
"Lest  I  be  full,  and  deny  thee."    Compare  the  expression,  "  full  of  days,"  in  ch.  35  :  29. 

Was  gathered  to  Ids  people.  He  was  not  buried  among  them,  nor  in  their  vicinity,  but 
in  a  foreign  land  and  far  remote  from  where  their  remains  reposed.  If  he  had  been  buried 
beside  and  among  them,  the  phrase  might  be  understood  to  mean  merely,  that  his  remains  were 
deposited  with  theirs.  But  as  the  case  stands,  the  phrase  implies  the  belief,  with  which  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures  are  pervaded*  of  the  continued,  separate  existence  of  the  soul,  after  the 
death  of  the  body,  in  another  state  of  being  where  all  are  gathered  who  have  passed  from  this 
life.    See  an  instructive  example  of  this  use  of  the  phrase  in  ch.  49  :  33. 

This  conclusion  can  be  evaded  only  by  assuming  that  the  phrase  originated  in  the  practice  of 
burying  the  deceased  of  the  same  family  or  race  in  a  common  burying-place,f  and  by  use 
became  simply  a  technical  expression  for  burial.  But  its  use  here  in  that  sense,  with  the  em- 
phatic addition  "  to  his  people,"  is  too  glaringly  incongruous  to  be  admitted.  Compare  ch.  15  : 
15,  "  thou  shalt  go  to  thy  fathers  in  peace." 

V.  11.    Beer-lehai-roi.    See  the  note  on  ch.  24  :  G2,  and  the  references  there  given. 

W.  12-18.    A  brief  notice  of  the  sons  of  Ishmael,  and  of  his  death. 

*  Compare  the  note  on  ch.  5  :  24 ;  and  see,  in  the  writer's  remarks  on  Job  2G  :  5  (Part  First, 
philological  notes,  and  Part  Second,  explanatory  notes)  the  evidence  of  this  belief  impressed 
on  the  language  itself  in  the  term  used  for  the  disembodied  spirit,  that  part  of  man  which  sur- 
vives death.  This  evidence  is  unhappily  effaced  from  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  in  the 
common  English  version,  where  this  term  is  improperly  rendered  dead,  and  is  thus  confounded 
with  another  Hebrew  word  which  is  properly  so  rendered.  See  also  the  article  Dead,  added  to 
the  American  edition  of  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary. 

f  See  the  writer's  remarks  on  Job  (Part  Second,  explanatory  notes),  ch.  27  :  19. 

102 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxv. 


firstborn  of  Ishmael,  Nebaioth  ;  and  Kedar,   and   Abdeel, 
14 15  and  Mibsam,  and  Mishma,  and  Dumah,  and  Massa,  Hadad 

16  and  Temah,  Jetur,  Naphish,  and  Kedemah.  These  are  the 
sons  of  Ishmael,  and  these  are  their  names,  by  their  vil- 
lages, and  by  their  encampments  ;  twelve  princes  accord- 
ing to  their  peoples. 

17  And  these  are  the  years  of  the  life  of  Ishmael,  a  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven  years.     And  he  expired,  and  died, 

18  and  was  gathered  to  his  people.  And  they  dwelt  from 
Havilah  unto  Shur,  that  is  before  Egypt,  as  thou  goest 
to  Assyria.     Before  the  face  of  all  his  brethren  he  abode. 

19  And  these  are  the  generations  of  Isaac,  son  of  Abraham. 

20  Abraham  begot  Isaac.  And  Isaac  was  forty  years  old 
when  he  took  Rebekah,  daughter  of  Bethuel  the  Aramite 
of  Padan-aram,  sister  of  Laban  the  Aramite,  for  his  wife. 

21  And  Isaac  entreated  Jehovah  on  account  of  his  wife,  for 

Nebaioth ;  ancestor  of  the  Nabathaeans,  a  very  ancient  and  powerful  people,  inhabiting 
Arabia  Petraea. 

Kedar ;  one  of  the  most  enterprising  and  renowned  of  the  Ishmaelite  races,  on  the  north- 
western part  of  the  peniusula  of  Arabia  and  near  the  borders  of  Palestine.  See  allusions  to 
"the  glory  of  Kedar,"  "archers,  the  mighty  men  of  the  sons  of  Kedar"  (Isaiah  21  :  1G,  17),  to 
"  the  princes  of  Kedar"  (Ezek.  27  :  21),  to  "  the  tents  of  Kedar"  (Cant.  1  :  5). 

Dumah  (Isaiah  21  :  11),  ancestor  of  an  Ishmaelite  tribe  whose  habitation  and  name  are  iden- 
tified in  the  town  called  Dooma-el-Jendel,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  peninsula  of  Arabia. 

Hadad  (not  Hadar,  as  in  the  common  English  version),  as  in  1  Chron.  1  :  30. 

Tema  (Job  G  :  19,  Isaiah  21  :  14,  Jer.  25  :  23),  founder  of  a  tribe  called  after  him,  whose  name 
is  recognized  in  Teyma,  a  town  near  the  borders  of  Syria  and  on  the  pilgrim-caravan  route  to 
Damascus.  Hadad  and  Tema  are  connected  here,  probably  as  dwelling  together  and  apart 
from  the  other  tribes. 

Jetur  gave  name  to  the  district  called  (in  its  Greek  form)  Iturma,  in  northern  Palestine. 
Jetur  and  Naphish*  are  mentioned  among  the  Hagarites  (1  Chron.  5  :  19)  who  were  subdued  by 
the  sons  of  Reuben,  Gad,  and  Manasseh  (vv.  18-22J. 

Kedemah ;  compare  the  Kadmonihs  (differing  only  in  the  gentilic  termination)  in  ch.  15  :  19. 

V.  1G.  Their  villages,  their  permanent  settlements;  their  encampments,  their  temporary  and 
movable  abodes  as  they  migrated  from  place  to  place. 

Twelve  princes  according  to  their  peoples  ;  each  people  having  its  own  prince,  as  an  inde- 
pendent nationality  by  itself. 

V.  18.  From  Havilah  (ch.  10  :  29)  to  Shur  on  the  eastern  border  of  Egypt.  As  thou  goest  to 
Assyria  ;  on  the  way  to  that  land. 

Before  (he  face  of  all  his  brethren.    Compare  the  remark  on  ch.  1G  :  12. 

Ch.  25  :  19-27  :  4G.    Second  part  of  the  fourth  division.    Family  history  of  Isaac. 

After  the  brief  notice  of  Ishmael  and  his  sons,  in  vv.  12-1S,  the  general  subject  of  this  fourth 
division  is  resumed  in  the  account  of  Isaac. 

V.  20.  Padan-aram ;  meaning,  Plain  of  Aram,  and  including  Mesopotamia  and  the  wilder- 
ness west  of  the  Euphrates,  in  distinction  from  the  mountainous  region  parallel  with  the  coast 
of  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

V.  21.  Was  barren.  She  continued  so  about  twenty  years  after  her  marriage;  compare 
v.  20  with  the  last  clause  of  v.  26. 

*  Inaccurately  written  Nephish  in  the  common  English  version  1  Chron.  5  :  19. 

103 


Chap.  xxv.  GENESIS. 


she  was  barren.  And  Jehovah  was  moved  by  his  en- 
treaty, and  Rebekah  his  wife  conceived. 

22  And  the  children  struggled  together  within  her.  And 
she  said  :  If  so,  wherefore  am  I  thus  ?     And  she  went  to 

2a  inquire  of  Jehovah.  And  Jehovah  said  to  her  :  Two  na- 
tions are  in  thy  womb,  and  two  peoples  from  thy  bowels 
will  be  separated  ;  and  one  people  will  be  stronger  than 
the  other  people  ;  and  the  elder  will  serve  the  younger. 

24  And   her    days   to   be    delivered   were    completed ;   and 

25  behold,  there  were  twins  in  her  womb.  And  the  first 
came  out  red,  all  over  like  a  hairy  mantle ;  and  they  called 

26  his  name  Esau.  And  after  that  came  out  his  brother,  and 
his  hand  had  hold  of  Esau's  heel ;  and  his  name  was  called 
Jacob.  And  Isaac  was  sixty  years  old  when  they  were 
born. 

27  And  the  lads  grew  up.  And  Esau  became  a  man  skilled 
in  hunting,  a   man   of  the    field  ;  and  Jacob  was    a   plain 

28  man,  dwelling  in  tents.  And  Isaac  loved  Esau,  because  he 
relished  game  ;  and  Rebekah  loved  Jacob. 

29  And  Jacob  was  seething  pottage  ;  and  Esau  came  from 

30  the  field,  and  he  was  faint.  And  Esau  said  to  Jacob  : 
Give  me  to  eat,  I  pray  thee,  of  the  red,  that  red,  for  I  am 

V.  22.     Or,  If  so,  wherefore  am  I  ? 

V.  22.  If  so;  if  such  be  the  case.  In  this  her  first  experience  of  this  phenomenon  of  her 
condition,  it  seems  to  her  an  omen  of  evil. 

Why  am  I  thus  ?  Meaning,  either,  thus  affected,  an  expression  of  surprise  and  wonder ;  or, 
why  am  I  in  this  condition,  namely,  why  should  I  have  desired  it? 

Wherefore  am  I  (marginal  rendering),  that  is,  wherefore  do  I  yet  live,  accords  with  her  san- 
guine and  impulsive  temperament,  as  exhibited  in  ch.  27  :  46.  But  the  rendering  of  the  text  is 
probably  the  true  one. 

V.  23.  Twopieoples  (proceeding)  from  thy  bowels  will  be  separated,  will  be  at  variance  with 
each  other;  or,  as  the  words  may  mean,  will  be  separated  (at  variance)  from  birth. 

V.  25.     Esau;  meaning,  hairy. 

V.  2G.     Jacob;  meaning,  he  takes  by  the  heel,— a  supp'nnter.     Compare  Hosea  12  :  3. 

V.  27.  Plain;  that  is,  quiet  and  orderly  in  his  tastes,  habits,  and  manner  of  life,  in  marked 
contrast  with  the  wild  and  adventurous  life  of  his  brother. 

YV.  29-34.  We  have  here  an  incident  of  family  history,  illustrating  the  character  of  the  two 
brothers,  and  exerting  an  important  influence  on  their  subsecpaent  relations.  As  Esau  once 
returned  from  a  hunting  excursion,  faint  with  fatigue  and  hunger,  he  found  Jacob  preparing  a 
rustic  meal  of  boiled  lentiles.  Jacob  tests  his  brother's  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  birthright 
by  demanding  it  in  exchange  for  the  food  which  Esau's  hunger  required;  and  Esau  shows  how 
little  he  prized  it  by  yielding  to  the  demand.  The  transaction  is  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  those 
providential  occurrences  by  which  the  characters  of  men  are  brought  to  light. 

V.  30.  Of  the  red,  thai  red.  The  expression  is  indicative  of  eagerness  and  haste.  Edom; 
meaning,  red. 

104 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxvi. 


31  faint.     Therefore  was  his  name  called  Edom.      And  Jacob 

32  said  :  Sell  me  this  day  thy  birthright.  And  Esau  said  : 
Behold,    I   am   about    to    die  ;    and  what  is    that  to  me, 

33  a  birthright !  And  Jacob  said  :  Swear  to  me  this  day. 
And  he  swore  to  him.  And  he  sold  his  birthright  to 
Jacob. 

34  And  Jacob  gave  Esau  bread  and  pottage  of  lentiles. 
And  he  ate  and  drank,  and  rose  up,  and  went  his  way. 
And  Esau  despised  the  birthright. 

1  And  there  was  a  famine  in  the  land,  besides  the  first 
famine  that  was  in  the  days  of  Abraham.  And  Isaac 
went  to  Abimelech,  king  of  the  Philistines,  to  Gerar. 

2  And  Jehovah  appeared  to  him,  and  said  :  Go  not  down 

3  to  Egypt ;  dwell  in  the  land  of  which  I  tell  thee.  Sojourn 
in  this  land,  and  I  will  be  with  thee  and  will  bless  thee  ; 
for  to  thee,  and  to  thy  seed,  I  will  give  all  these  lands  ; 
and  I  will  establish  the   oath  which  I  swore  to  Abraham 

4  thy  father.  And  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of 
heaven,  and  will  give  to  thy  seed  all  these  lands  ;  and  in 
thy  seed   shall    all   the   nations   of  the    earth   be    blessed. 

V.  4.     Or,  shall     .     .     .     account  themselves  blessed 

V.  32.  What  is  that  to  me,  a  birthright !  The  form  of  expression  is  peculiarly  contemptuous, 
indicating  the  worthlessness  of  this  right  in  his  estimation.  Compare  the  sacred  writer's  com- 
ment in  v.  34. 

V.  34.  Despised  the  birthright;  not  "  his  birthright"  (as  in  the  common  English  version),  but 
the  institution  itself;  iucluding  not  only  the  temporal  advantages  of  precedence  in  rank  as 
head  of  the  tribe  and  heir  to  the  family  estate,  but  also,  in  this  case,  the  more  important  spirit- 
ual blessings  of  the  covenant  with  the  race  of  Abraham.* 

Ch.  26.    Isaac's  sojourn  in  Gerar.    Esau's  marriage. 

V.  1.  In  the  land;  namely,  of  Canaan,  to  which  Isaac  had  returned  from  the  "south  coun- 
try," where  he  had  resided  (ch.  24  :  G2).    Afamine.    Compare  the  remark  on  ch.  12  :  10. 

Gerar.  See  the  note  on  ch.  10  :  19.  This  city  was  on  the  main  route  to  Egypt,  the  granary 
of  the  old  world  (ch.  12,  note  on  v.  10),  from  which  supplies  of  food  could  easily  be  obtained. 
Here  Isaac  dwelt  (v.  G),  in  accordance  with  the  direction  given  in  the  two  following  verses. 

Abimelech;  the  royal  title  borne  by  the  kings  of  the  land,  and  not  the  name  of  an  individual  mon- 
arch. Compare  1  Sam.  21  :  11  with  the  superscription  of  Psalm  34.  The  same  person  who  is 
mentioned  by  his  proper  name  Achish  in  the  former  passage,  in  the  latter  is  called  Abimelech. 

V.  4.  Shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed.  The  Hebrew  verb  may  be  translated  as  in 
the  margin,  "shall — account  themselves  blessed  ;"  that  is,  shall  by  the  same  faith  appropriate 
to  themselves  the  blessings  promised  to  Abraham  and  his  seed. 

*  "  tVith  a  selfish  and  profane  spirit  (Heb.  12  :  16)  he  thought  only  of  himself,  not  of  his  pos- 
terity, and  preferred  what  was  at  hand,  the  present,  to  the  invisible  and  future." — Dclitzsch, 
Commentar  uber  die  Genesis,  3te  Ausg.,  p.  445. 

105 


Chap.  xxvi.  GENESIS. 


6  Because  Abraham  hearkened  to  my  voice,  and  kept  my 
charge,  my  commandments,  my  statutes,  and  my  laws. 

6  7  And  Isaac  dwelt  in  Gerar.  And  the  men  of  the  place 
asked  concerning  his  wife.  And  he  said  :  She  is  my  sister  ; 
for  he  feared  to  say,  my  wife,  lest  the  men  of  the  place 
kill  me  on  account  of  Rebekah.  For  she  was  of  fair 
countenance., 

8  And  it  came  to  pass  that  he  was  there  a  long  time. 
And  Abimelech,  king  of  the  Philistines,  looked  out  at  the 
window,    and   saw,   and   behold    Isaac   was    sporting   with 

9  Rebekah  his  wife.  And  Abimelech  called  Isaac,  and  said  : 
Behold,  she  is  surely  thy  wife  ;  and  how  saidst  thou,  she 
is  my  sister  ?  And  Isaac  said  to  him  :  Because  I  said,  lest 
I  die  on  account  of  her. 

10  And  Abimelech  said  :  What  is  this  that  thou  hast  done 
to  us  ?  Well-nigh  had  one  of  the  people  lain  with  thy 
wife,    and    thou   wouldst   have    brought    a   trespass    upon 

11  us.  And  Abimelech  charged  all  the  people,  saying  :  He 
that  touches  this  man  or  his  wife  shall  surely  be  put  to 
death. 

12  And  Isaac  sowed  in  that  land  ;  and  he  received  in  that 

13  year  a  hundred-fold  ;  and  Jehovah  blessed  him.  And  the 
man   became   great,  and  went  on   increasing  until   he  be- 

14  came  very  great.  And  he  had  possessions  of  flocks,  and 
possessions  of  herds,  and  many  servants.      And  the  Philis- 

15  tines  were  jealous    of  him.     And  all  the  wells  which  his 

V.  4.     Or,  account  themselves  blessed 

VV.  0-11.     Compare  the  similar  conduct  of  Abraham,  chs.  12  :  11-13,  and  20  :  2-13. 

V.  7.  (S'Ae  is  my  sister ;  that  is,  a  near  relative  by  blood,  the  terms  brother  and  sister  in- 
cluding relatives  of  any  degree.     Compare  chs.  14  :  16 ;  29  :  12,  15. 

V.  10.  Well-nigh,  etc.  His  meaning  is,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  it,  and  it  was  very 
likely  to  occur. 

This  passage  in  the  life  of  the  patriarch  has  been  the  occasion  of  much  reproach  on  the  part 
of  the  avowed  enemies  of  revelation,  and  even  some  Christian  writers  (as  in  the  similar  case  of 
Abraham)  have  condemned  his  conduct  with  unsparing  severity.  For  a  different  view  of  the 
case,  see  the  remarks  made  on  ch.  12  :  13.* 

VV.  14,  15.  Were  jealous  of  him;  of  his  increasing  wealth  and  power  (compare  v.  16).  The 
Philistines  of  this  region  seem  to  have  been  a  pastoral  people,  and  the  presence  among  them  of 

*  When  that  note  was  penned,  the  writer  was  not  aware  that  the  propriety  of  the  patriarch's 
conduct  had  been  ably  shown  by  Waterland  (Scripture  Vindicated,  on  Gen.  xii.  13;  Works,  vol. 
iv.,  pp.  189-190),  in  a  minute  and  careful  analysis  of  the  case. 

106 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxyl 


father's   servants  dug  in  the  days  of  Abraham  his  father, 

the  Philistines  stopped  them,  and  filled  them  with  earth. 

16       And  Abimelech  said  to  Isaac  :  Go  from  us  ;  for  thou  art 

n.  much  stronger  than  we.     And  Isaac  went  from  thence,  and 

pitched   his   tent  in  the  valley  of  Gerar,  and  dwelt  there. 

18  And  Isaac  dug  again  the  wells  of  water  which  they  dug 
in  the  clays  of  Abraham  his  father  ;  for  the  Philistines 
stopped  them  after  the  death  of  Abraham  ;  and  he  called 
their  names  after  the  names  by  which  his  father  called 
them.  % 

19  And  the  servants  of  Isaac  dug  in  the  valley,  and  found 

20  there  a  well  of  living  water.  And  the  herdsmen  of  Gerar 
strove  with  the  herdsmen  of  Isaac,  saying  :  The  water  is 
ours.  And  he  called  the  name  of  the  well  Esek  ;  because 
they  disputed  with  him. 

21  And  they  dug  another  well  ;  and  they  strove  for  that 
also  ;  and  he  called  the  name  of  it  Sitnah. 

22  And  he  moved  onward  from  thence,  and  dug  another 
well ;  and  for  that  they  did  not  strive.  And  he  called  the 
name  of  it  Rehoboth,  and  said  :  For  now  Jehovah  has 
made   room   for  us,  and  we   shall  be   fruitful  in  the  land. 

23  And  he  went  up  from  thence  to  Beer-sheba. 

24  And  Jehovah  appeared  to  him  on  that  night,  and  said  : 


one  so  much  more  prosperous  than  themselves  was  a  cause  of  jealousy  and  apprehension. 
Hence  the  stopping  of  the  wells  (v.  15)  on  which  he  depended  for  water,  as  the  most  effectual 
means  of  compelling  him  to  remove. 

V.  17.  In  the  valley  of  Gerar ;  in  the  same  valley  in  which  the  city  of  Gerar  lay,  but  appar- 
ently farther  up  the  country  and  nearer  the  head  of  the  valley. 

The  Hebrew  word  here  rendered  valley  means  strictly  the  hollow  which  serves  as  the  water- 
course of  a  mountain  stream,  sometimes  put  for  the  stream  itself;  full  in  the  rainy  season,  and 
during  the  melting  of  the  winter  snows,  but  often  quite  dry  in  summer,  and  in  seasons  of 
drought  (compare  1  Kings  17  :  7).* 

V.  19.  A  icell  of  living  water.  In  digging  they  struck  a  vein  which  supplied  the  well  with 
fresh  fountain  water.  This  was  greatly  preferred  to  the  cisterns  (also  called  wells)  which  were 
bo  constructed,  often  in  the  solid  rock,  as  to  collect  the  rain  and  snow  water,  and  preserve  it 
cool  through  the  dry  season. 

W.  20-22.  The  water  is  ours  ;  as  being  within  the  territory  which  they  regarded  as  belong- 
ing to  them.  Esek;  meaning,  dispute.  Sitnah;  meaning,  opposition.  Rehoboth;  meaning, 
room. 

V.  23.  ne  fonnd  it  desirable,  probably  for  convenience  of  pasturage,  to  remove  to  Beer- 
sheba.  For  the  origin  and  meaning  of  the  name,  see  the  note  on  ch.  21  :  31,  and  compare  the 
remarks  below  on  v.  33. 


See  the  striking  description  of  such  a  stream  in  Job  6  :  15-18. 
107 


Chap,  xxvl  GENESIS. 


I  am  the  God  of  Abraham  thy  father.     Fear  not,  for  I  am 
with  thee ;  and  I  will  bless  thee,  and  will  multiply  thy  seed, 

25  for  the  sake  of  Abraham  my  servant.  And  he  built  there 
an  altar,  and  called  on  the  name  of  Jehovah.  And  he 
stretched  his  tent  there  ;  and  there  the  servants  of  Isaac 
dug  a  well. 

26  And  Abimelech  went  to  him  from  Gerar,  and  Ahuzzath 

27  his  friend,  and  Phichol  chief  captain  of  his  host.  And 
Isaac  said  to  them:  Wherefore  do  ye  come  to  me,  when 
ye  hate  me,  and  have  sent  me  away  from  you  ? 

28  And  they  said  :  We  saw  certainly  that  Jehovah  was  with, 
thee  ;  and  we  said,  let  there  be  now  an  oath  between  us, 

29  between  us  and  thee,  and  let  us  make  a  covenant  with  thee, 
that  thou  wilt  do  us  no  evil,  as  we  have  not  touched  thee, 
and  as  we  have  done  thee  only  good,  and  have  sent  thee 
away  in  peace.     Thou  art  now  blessed  of  Jehovah. 

30  And  he  made  them   a  feast ;    and  they  ate  and  drank. 

31  And  they  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  they  swore  one 
to  another.  And  Isaac  sent  them  away,  and  they  went 
from  him  in  peace. 

32  And  it  came  to  pass  on  that  day,  that  the  servants  of 
Isaac  came,  and  told  him  concerning  the  well  which  they 
had  dug.      And  they  said  to  him  :  We  have  found  water. 

33  And  he  called  it  Shebah.  Therefore  the  name  of  the  city 
is  Beer-sheba  to  this  day. 

34  And  Esau  was  forty  years  old  ;  and  he  took  for  a  wife 

V.  2G.  Phichol  (meaning,  mouth  of  all ;  that  is,  one  who  speaks  for  all,  the  director  and 
leader,)  seems  to  have  been  the  title  of  the  military  commander,  and  not  the  proper  name  of  an. 
individual.     His  friend  (minister);  1  Kings  4  :  5  ;  1  Chron.  27  :  33,  properly  the  Icing' s  friend. 

W.  32,  33.  Here  again  it  is  mentioned,  as  in  v.  25,  that  the  servants  of  Isaac  dug  a  well. 
As  flocks  and  herds  increased  in  number,  a  greater  supply  of  water  was  required.  In  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  this  place,  besides  the  two  large  wells  mentioned  in  the  second  paragraph 
of  the  note  on  ch.  21  :  31,  five  smaller  wells  are  still  found,  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
them,  grouped  together  in  the  bed  of  the  valley.  The  two  former  are  on  the  northern  bank 
and  near  the  margin  of  the  valley,  and  on  the  low  hills  a  little  further  north  are  the  ruins  of  a 
small  town. 

There  is  no  ground,  therefore,  for  supposing  that  there  are  two  different  accounts  (here  and 
in  ch.  21  :  2S-31)  of  the  digging  of  the  same  well  and  of  the  origin  of  the  name.  The  name 
originated  in  the  transaction  recorded  in  ch.  21 ;  and  it  was  historically  connected  with  the 
occurrences  related  in  both  passages. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  name  Shebah  (meaning  oath),  given  to  the  well  here  spoken  of, 
differs  from  sluba  in  the  name  Beer-sheba.  In  Hebrew  the  forms  differ  s&l  more,  though  both 
may  have  the  same  meaning.    Compare  the  note  on  ch.  21  :  31,  first  paragraph. 

108 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxvn. 


Judith  the  daughter  of  Beeri  the  Hittite,  and  Bashemath 
35 .  the  daughter  of  Elon  the  Hittite.     And  they  were  a  bitter- 
ness of  spirit  to  Isaac  and  to  Rebekah. 

1  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Isaac  was  old,  that  his  eyes 
were  dim,  so  that  he  could  not  see.  And  he  called  Esau 
his  eldest  son,  and  said  to  him  :  My  son  !     And  he  said  to 

2  him  :  Here  am  I.     And  he  said  :  Behold  now,  I  am  old ;  I 

3  know  not  the  day  of  my  death.  Now  therefore  take,  I 
pray,  thy  weapons,   thy  quiver  and  thy  bow,   and  go  out 

4  to  the  field,  and  hunt  game  for  me.  And  make  for  me 
savory  meats,  such  as  I  love,  and  bring  them  to  me,  that 
I  may  eat ;  in  order  that  my  soul  may  bless  thee  before  I 
die. 

5  And  Rebekah  was  listening  when  Isaac  spoke  to  Esau 

VV.  34,  35.  The  Hittites  (sons  of  Heth,  ch.  10  :  15,  note,  third  paragraph),  occupying  the  re- 
gion around  Hebron  where  Abraham  often  dwelt,  were  Canaanites  of  the  race  of  Ham,  and 
Abraham  would  not  allow  a  wife  to  be  taken  for  Isaac  from  among  them  (ch.  24  :  3).  It  is 
another  significant  indication  of  the  reckless  character  of  Esau,  that  he  not  only  took  two 
wives,  but  chose  them  both  from  this  irreligious  race. 

Ch.  27.    Jacob  obtains  the  paternal  blessing. 

It  was  the  purpose  of  the  aged  and  infirm  patriarch  to  establish  Esau  in  all  the  rights  and 
prerogatives  of  the  firstborn,  by  bestowing  on  him  the  paternal  blessing,  and  so  to  perpetuate 
through  him  and  his  offspring  the  blessings  of  the  promised  seed.  That  this  was  contrary  to 
the  divine  purpose  is  clearly  indicated  elsewhere  (ch.  25  :  23),  and  was  apparent  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  characters  of  the  two  brothers. 

This  chapter  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  truth,  with  which  all  human  history  is  pervaded, 
that  God  works  out  his  purposes  by  overruling  men's  weaknesses,  and  their  wrong  devices, 
for  the  accomplishment  of  his  own  just  ends.* 

W.  1-4.  When  Isaac  was  old.  He  was  at  this  time  about  a  hundred  and  thirty-seven  year3 
of  age.f 

That  my  so^d  may  bless  thee.  The  arrangements  for  this  solemn  observance  have  been  un- 
justly characterized  as  merely  sensual.  On  the  contrary,  the  patriarch  would  make  the  bestow- 
ment  of  the  blessing  a  joyful  as  well  as  solemn  occasion,  a  season  of  festivity,  of  devout  thanks- 
giving for  temporal  and  spiritual  mercies. 

VV.  5-10.  Rebekah  knew,  from  the  divine  communication  made  to  her  (ch.  25  :  23)  that  Isaac 
was  about  to  bestow  the  paternal  blessing  in  opposition  to  the  divine  will,  as  well  as  to  her  own 
maternal  preference  (ch.  25  :  2S).  To  prevent  this,  she  resorts  to  a  stratagem,  indefensible  in 
every  view,  and  the  source  of  lifelong  trouble  and  sorrow  to  herself  and  her  favorite  son. 

*  "God  permitted  Isaac  to  be  deceived,  to  show  that  it  was  not  by  the  will  of  man  that 
Jacob,  contrary  to  the  order  of  nature,  was  raised  to  the  rights  and  honors  of  the  firstborn." — 
Calvin  in  libi-um  Geneseos. 

f  As  ascertained  by  the  following  comparison  of  dates,  in  which  the  due  allowance  for  frac- 
tions of  years  would  but  slightly  vary  the  result  t 

Joseph  was  thirty-nine  years  old  (ch.  41  :  4G,  and  45  :  G)  when  Jacob  went  down  to  Egypt  at 
the  age  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  (ch.  47  :  9),  and  consequently  was  born  when  Jacob 
was  ninety-one  years  old.  As  this  occurred  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  Jacob's  service  with 
Laban  (ch.  30  :  25,  and  29  :  18,  21,  27),  his  flight  took  place  in  his  seventy-seventh  year,  and 
consequently  in  the  hundred  and  thirty-seventh  year  of  Isaac's  age  (ch.  25  :  26). 

109 


Chap.  xxvn.  GENESIS. 


his  son.     And  Esau  went  to  the  field  to  hunt  for  game,  to 
bring  it. 

6  And  Rebekah  spoke  to  Jacob  her  son,  saying  :  Behold, 
I  heard  thy  father  speaking  to  Esau  thy  brother,  saying  : 

7  Bring  me  game,  and  make  for  me  savory  meats,  that  I 
may  eat ;  and  I  will  bless  thee  before  Jehovah,  before  my 
death. 

8  Now  therefore,  my  son,  hearken  to  my  voice,  in  regard 

9  to  what  I  command  thee.  Go  now  to  the  flock,  and  take 
for  me  from  thence  two  good  kids  of  the  goats  ;  and  I  will 
make  them  savory  meats  for  thy  father,  such  as  he  loves. 

10  And  thou  shalt  bring  it  to  thy  father,  that  he  may  eat ;  in 
order  that  he  may  bless  thee  before  his  death. 

11  And  Jacob  said  to  Rebekah  his  mother  :  Behold,  Esau 
my  brother   is    a   hairy  man,  and   I    am   a   smooth   man. 

12  Perhaps  my  father  will  feel  of  me,  and  I  shall  be  in  his 
eyes  as  a  mocker  ;  and  I  shall  bring  upon  me  a  curse,  and 
not  a  blessing. 

13  And  his  mother  said  to  him  :  Upon  me  be  thy  curse, 
my  son  ;  only  hearken  to  my  voice,  and  go  take  them  for 

14  me.  And  he  went,  and  took  them,  and  brought  them  to 
his  mother.  And  his  mother  made  savory  meats,  such  as 
his  father  loved. 

15  And  Rebekah  took  the  garments  of  Esau  her  eldest  son, 
the  precious  ones,  which  were  with  her  in  the  house,  and 

16  clothed  Jacob  her  younger  son.  And  the  skins  of  the  kids 
of  the  goats  she  put  upon  his  hands,  and  upon  the  smooth 

17  parts  of  his  neck.  And  she  gave  the  savory  meats  and  the 
bread,  which  she  prepared,  into  the  hand  of  Jacob  her  son. 

Was  listening ;  an  indication  of  her  watchfulness  over  the  interests  of  a  darling  son. 

V.  12.  As  a  mocker;  as  one  who  deals  lightly  with  sacred  things,  making  a  mock  of  a  serious 
and  solemn  observance. 

VV.  13,  14.  She  takes  upon  herself  the  whole  responsibility;  and  Jacob  suffers  his  fears  and 
scruples  to  be  overruled  by  her  maternal  authority,  siding  as  it  does  with  the  advancement  of 
his  own  interests. 

VV.  15-17.  His  hest  apparel  is  selected,  as  suited  to  the  solemnity  and  the  festive  character 
of  the  occasion.    Compare  the  remarks  on  vv.  1-4,  second  paragraph. 

The  skins  of  the  kids  of  the  goats.  The  Oriental  camel-goat  is  meant,  whose  dark  silky  hail 
was  used  by  the  Romans  as  an  artificial  substitute  for  the  human  hair.* 

*  Tuch,  Kommentar  uber  die  Genesis,  p.  430. 

110 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxvn. 


18  And  he  came  to  his  father,  and  said  :  My  father  !     And 

19  he  said  :  Here  am  I ;  who  art  thou,  my  son  ?  And  Jacob 
said  to  his  father :  I  am  Esau,  thy  first-born.  I  have  done 
as  thou  didst  say  to  me.  Arise,  I  pray,  sit  and  eat  of  my 
game,  in  order  that  thy  soul  may  bless  me. 

20  And  Isaac  said  to  his  son  :  How  is  this,  that  thou  hast 
found  it  so  quickly,  my  son  ?  And  he  said  :  Because 
Jehovah  thy  God  prospered  me. 

21  And  Isaac  said  to  Jacob  :  Come  near  now,  that  I  may 
feel  of  thee,  my  son,  whether  thou  art  my  very  son  Esau 

22  or  not.     And  Jacob  came  near  to  Isaac  his  father  ;  and  he 
.  felt  of  him,-  and  said  :  The  voice  is  the  voice  of  Jacob,  but 

23  the  hands  are  the  hands  of  Esau.  And  he  discerned  him 
not,  because  his  hands  were  as  the  hands  of  Esau  his 
brother,  hairy  ;  and  he  blessed  him. 

24  And   he   said  :  Art   thou  my  very  son  Esau  ?     And  he 

25  said  :  I  am.  And  he  said  :  Bring  it  near  to  me,  that  I 
may  eat  of  my  son's  game,  in  order  that  my  soul  may 
bless  thee.  And  he  brought  it  near  to  him,  and  he  ate  ; 
and  he  brought  him  wine,  and  he  drank. 

26  And  Isaac  his  father  said  to  him  :  Come  near  now,  and 

27  kiss  me,  my  son.  And  he  came  near,  and  kissed  him. 
And  he  smelled  the  smell  of  his  garments,  and  blessed 
him,  and  said  : 

See,  the  smell  of  my  son  is  as  the  smell  of  a  field, 
Which  Jehovah  has  blessed. 

V.  20.  Jehovah  thy  God  prospered  me.  It  is  one  of  the  most  fearful  perils  of  deviation  from 
the  right  way,  that  no  bound  is  set  to  it.  The  transgressor  knows  not  whither  it  will  lead  him. 
Jacob  begins  with  deception,  follows  it  up  with  falsehood,  and  ends  with  profaning  the  sacred 
name  of  Jehovah,  by  attributing  its  success  to  his  favor.  Years  of  wandering  from  the  beloved 
home,  of  toil  and  privation  (ch.  31  :  40),  and  anxious  fears  (ch.  32  :  6-8),  are  the  divine  com- 
ment. 

V.  23.  He  blessed  him ;  greeted  him  with  a  blessing.*  There  is  no  reference  here  to  tho 
formal  blessing  recorded  in  vv.  27-29. 

VV.  27-29.  The  smell  of  his  garments  ;  fragrant  with  the  balmy  air  and  the  fresh  odors  of 
the  open  fields. f 

Has  blessed  with  his  favor;  made  it  productive,  rich  in  abundant  harvests,  and  perfumed  with 
their  fresh  fragrance. 

*  As  was  usual  at  meeting  and  parting.  See  ch.  47  :  7,  10;  2  Kings  4  :  29,  in  the  Hebrew, 
"if  thou  meet  a  man  bless  him  not,  and  if  a  man  bless  thee  answer  him  not.''  Compare  tho 
courteous  and  pious  greeting  of  Boaz  and  his  reapers,  Ruth  2  :  4. 

t  Compare  Cant.  4  :  11,  "  the  smell  of  thy  garments  ia  as  the  smell  of  Lebanon." 

Ill 


Chap.  xxvn.  GENESIS. 


28  And  God  give  thee  of  the  dew  of  heaven, 
And  of  the  fatness  of  the  earth, 

And  abundance  of  corn  and  new  wine. 

29  Let  peoples  serve  thee, 

And  nations  bow  down  to  thee. 

Be  lord  of  thy  brethren, 

And  let  thy  mother's  sons  bow  down  to  thee. 

Cursed  be  every  one  that  curses  thee, 

And  blessed  be  every  one  that  blesses  thee. 

30  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Isaac  made  an  end  of  bless- 
ing Jacob,  and  Jacob  was  but  just  gone  out  from  the 
presence   of  Isaac  his  father,  that  Esau  his  brother  came 

n  from  his  hunting.  And  he  also  made  savory  meats,  and 
brought  them  to  his  father.  And  he  said  to  his  father  : 
Let  my  father  arise,  and  eat  of  his  son's  game,  in  order 
that  thy  soul  may  bless  me. 

32  And  Isaac  his  father  said  to  him  :  Who  art  thou?  And 
he  said  :  I  am  thy  son,  thy  first-born,  Esau. 

33  And  Isaac  trembled  with  exceedingly  great  trembling. 
And  he  said :  Who  then  is  he  that  hunted  game,  and 
brought  it  to  me,  and  I  ate  of  all  before  thou  earnest,  and 
blessed  him?     Yea,  blessed  shall  he  be  ! 

34  When  Esau  heard  the  words  of  his  father,  he  cried  with 
a  great  and  exceedingly  bitter  cry.  And  he  said  to  his 
father  :  Bless  me,  me  also,  my  father. 

35  And  he  said  :  Thy  brother  came  with  deceit,  and  took 
thy  blessing. 

36  And  he  said  :  Is  not  his  name  called  Jacob  ?      And  he 

New  wine.  By  this  is  meant  wine  of  the  first  year,  the  product  of  the  season  ;  and  hence  it 
is  usually  coupled  as  here  with  corn,  or  with  corn  and  oil,  as  the  yearly  product  of  the  land. 
It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  nothing  further  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  use  of  this  particular 
term.    Compare  Hosea  4  :  11. 

The  words  of  the  patriarch  take  the  poetic  form,  as  is  customary  with  the  Hebrews  whenever 
feeling  rises  above  its  ordinary  tone. 

The  blessing  awards  to  its  recipient  whatever  belonged  of  right  to  the  first-born,  and  places 
him  at  the  head  of  the  chosen  race. 

W.  32,  33.  Who  art  thou?  He  does  not  say  here  (as  in  v.  18),  Who  art  thou,  my  son?  la 
his  astonishment  and  alarm,  he  does  not  recognize  his  son,  and  demands  who  this  intruder  is. 

Yea,  blessed  shall  he l>e.  He  can  not  retract  the  blessing  already  pronounced.  The  Hebrew 
patriarch,  in  the  character  of  priest  and  prophet,  regarded  himself  as  the  instrument  of  the 
divine  will,  and  what  had  passed  his  lips  was  beyond  recall. 

V.  36.    Jacob  ;  meaning  Supplarder  (compare  ch.  25  :  2G),  one  who  takes  another  by  the  heel 

112 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxvn. 


has  supplanted  me  these  two  times.  Ho  took  my  birth- 
right ;  and,  behold,  now  he  has  taken  my  blessing.  And 
he  said  :  Hast  thou  not  reserved  for  me  a  blessing  ? 

And  Isaac  answered  and  said  to  Esau  :  Behold,  I  have 
made  him  thy  lord,  and  all  his  brethren  have  I  given  to 
him  for  servants,  and  with  corn  and  new  wine  have  I  sus- 
tained him.     And  now  what  can  I  do  for  thee,  my  son  ? 

And  Esau  said  to  his  father  :  Hast  thou  but  one  blessing, 
my  father  ?  Bless  me,  me  also,  m}^  father.  And  Esau 
lifted  up  his  voice,  and  wept. 

And  Isaac  his  father  answered  and  said  to  him  : 

Behold,    from    the    fatness    of   the    earth    shall    be 
thy  dwelling, 

And  from  the  dew  of  heaven  from  above. 

And  by  thy  sword  thou  shalt  live, 

And  thy  brother  shalt  thou  serve. 


)0.     Or,  Behold,  of  the  fatness  of  the  earth  shall  be  thy  dwelling, 
And  of  the  dew  of  heaven  from  above. 


to  throw  him  down.  To  the  Hebrew,  Esau's  words  would  read:  "Is  not  his  name  called  Sup- 
planter?    And  he  has  supplanted  me  these  two  times." 

V.  39.  From;  that  is  away  from.  His  dwelling  should  be  away  from  the  fatness  of  the 
earth  (its  fruitful  soil),  and  from  the  dew  of  heaven  (its  fertilizing  influence).  With  this  accord 
the  descriptions  of  this  region  by  ancient  writers,  and  by  modern  travelers  who  have  visited  it. 
Compare  Mai.  1  :  3.*  Hence  the  patriarch  adds,  "  by  thy  sword  thou  shalt  live,"'  as  having  no 
other  means  of  subsistence. 

The  word  might  also  be  translated  as  in  the  margin,  being  the  same  word  that  is  so  translated 
twice  ("  of  the  dew"—"  of  the  fatness")  in  v.  28.  But  the  version  in  the  text  is  doubtless  the 
true  one.f 

V.  40.  By  thy  sword  thou  shalt  live;  by  war  and  plunder,  as  illustrated  in  his  own  history, 
and  in  that  of  his  posterity. 

And  thy  brother  shalt  thou  serve;  shalt  be  the  inferior  and  subordinate  power,  unable  to  con- 
tend with  him  on  equal  terms.  This  is  qualified  in  the  following  words,  "as  thou  rovest  at 
•will,  thou  wilt  break  his  yoke  from  off  thy  neck."  Both  statements  are  fully  verified  in  the 
history  and  relations  of  the  two  races.     The  one  became  a  great  and  prosperous  kingdom  ;  the 

*  Properly  :  and  made  his  7nountai)is  a  waste,  and  liis  heritage  desert  tracts.  The  connection 
Bhows  that  the  prophet  refers  1o  the  original  distinction  mads  between  the  two  brothers  iu  the 
allotment  of  their  inheritance. 

f  A  verbal  correspondence  with  v.  23  was  probably  intended.  But  the  connection  of  words 
la  here  quite  different;  and  this,  as  well  as  the  evident  intention  of  the  speaker,  requires  the 
other  sense,  -which  is  equally  common.  As  to  the  connection,  the  word  give  (in  v.  28)  ia  prop- 
erly followed  by  the  partitive  sense  ("  give  thee  of  the  dew  of  heaven-'),  while  it  could  not  be 
said,  "  thy  dwelling  shall  be  of  the  dew  of  heaven,"  in  any  sense.  As  to  the  intention  of  tho 
speaker,  it  s  ems  clear  that  Isaac,  after  saying  in  v.  37,  "And  now  what  can  1  do  for  thee,  my 
son  ?"  would  not  have  promised  him  the  very  same  blessings  of  a  fruitful  soil  and  genial  climato, 
which  he  had  just  allotted  to  Jacob;  nor  would  he  after  this  have  added,  "and  by  thy  sword 
thou  shalt  live,"  as  though  he  would  have  no  other  means  of  subsistence. 
H  113 


Chap.  xxvn.  GENESIS. 


And  it  shall  be,  as  thou  rovest  at  will, 
Thou  wilt  break  his  yoke  from  off  thy  neck. 

41  And  Esau  purposed  evil  against  Jacob,  on  account  of 
the  blessing  with  which  his  father  blessed  him.  And  Esau 
said  in  his  heart :  The  days  of  mourning  for  my  father  are 
at  hand,  and  I  will  slay  Jacob  my  brother. 

42  And  the  words  of  Esau  her  eldest  son  were  told  to  Re- 
bekah.  And  she  sent  and  called  Jacob  her  younger  son, 
and   said   to   him  :  Behold,    Esau   thy   brother   is  about  to 

43  avenge  himself  on  thee,  by  slaying  thee.  Now  therefore, 
my  son,  hearken  to  my  voice,  and  arise,  flee  to  Laban  my 

44  brother,  to  Haran,   and   abide  with   him   a   few  days,  until 

45  thy  brother's  fury  turn  away  ;  until  thy  brother's  anger 
turn  away  from  thee,  and  he  shall  forget  what  thou  hast 
done  to  him,  and  I  will  send  and  bring  thee  from  thence. 
Why  should  I  be  deprived  of  you  both  together  in  one 
day  ? 

415  And  Rebekah  said  to  Isaac  :  I  am  weary  of  my  life 
because  of  the  daughters  of  Heth.  If  Jacob  takes  a  wife 
■of  the  daughters  of  Heth,  such  as  these  of  the  daughters 
of  the  land,  for  what  to  me  is  life ! 

other  never  attained  to  permanent  power  and  influence,  and  though  many  times  mastered  and 
temporarily  subjected,  restlessly  asserted  their  independence. 

As  thou  rovest  at  icill,  impatient  of  control,  and  defying  all  restraint.  The  words  describe 
the  wild  and  free  habits  of  a  race  which  can  not  be  held  in  permanent  subjection. 

V.  41.  Purposed  evil  against  Jacob;  watching  his  opportunity,  when  he  might  at  length 
wreak  his  vengeance  on  him,  without  incurring  his  father's  displeasure,  as  intimated  in  the  fol- 
lowing words. 

V.  45.  A  flne  touch  of  maternal  feeling  betrays  itself  in  the  words,  Why  should  Ibe  deprived 
ofyoubolh;  of  one  by  death,  of  the  other  by  a  crime  worse  than  death. 

V.  46.  Compare  the  statement  in  ch.  2G  :  35.  Rebekah  here  shows  her  shrewdness  and  tact, 
in  the  means  by  which  she  obtained  Isaac's  assent,  and  his  parting  blessing. 


The  reader  will  not  fail  to  note  the  artless  truthfulness  of  this  interesting  and  affecting  narra- 
tive. The  whole  scene,  as  here  depicted,  is  wonderfully  true  to  nature,  all  the  parties  speaking 
and  acting  in  harmony  with  their  several  characters. 

Jacob  seems  to  have  yielded  wholly  to  the  guidance-of  his  mother's  stronger  will  (vv.  13,  14), 
but  not  without  the  calm  and  calculating  forethought  shown  by  him  on  other  occasions,  as  in 
ch.  25  :  31-33,  and  ch.  30  :  31-43.  Both  acted  on  the  false  principle,  that  the  end  sanctifies  the 
means;  and  both  were  signally  rebuked  (notes  on  vv.  5-10,  and  v.  20),  though  their  conduct 
was  divinely  overruled  for  good  ;  see  introductory  remarks,  second  paragraph. 

Esau  appears  here  as  elsewhere,  a  strong,  ardent  nature,  impetuous  and  violent  in  feeling  as 
in  action,  as  ready  now  to  take  the  life  of  his  offending  brother,  as  he  was  to  load  him  with 
caresses  and  kindness  in  after  years,  when  the  keen  sense  of  wrong  had  passed  away  in  tho 
stirring  excitements  of  a  wild  and  roving  life. 

There  is  a  mild,  spiritual  beauty  in  the  whole  of  Isaac's  character  and  career.     In  infancy, 

114 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxvm. 


1  And  Isaac  called  Jacob  and  blessed  him  ;  and  he  com- 
manded him,  and  said  to  him  :  Thou  shalt  not  take  a  wife 

2  of  the  daughters  of  Canaan.  Arise,  go  to  Padan-aram,  to 
the  house  of  Betliuel  thy  mother's  father,  and  take  for 
thee   a  wife   from   thence,  of  the  daughters  of  Laban  thy 

3  mother's  brother. '  And  G-od  Almighty  bless  thee,  and 
make   thee   fruitful,   and  multiply   thee,  that   thou  mayest 

4  become  an  assemblage  of  peoples  ;  and  give  to  thee  the 
blessing  of  Abraham,  to  thee  and  to  thy  seed  with  thee, 
that  thou  mayest  possess  the  land  of  thy  sojournings, 
which  G-od  gave  to  Abraham. 

6  And  Isaac  sent  away  Jacob.  And  he  went  to  Padan- 
aram,  to  Laban  son  of  Bethuel  the  Aramite,  brother  of 
Rebekah  the  mother  of  Jacob  and  Esau. 

6  And  Esau  saw  that  Isaac  blessed  Jacob,  and  sent  him 
away  to  Padan-aram,  to  take  for  himself  a  wife  from 
thence,  when  he  blessed  him,  and  commanded  him,  saying: 
Thou   shalt  not  take   a  wife  of  the  daughters  of  Canaan, 

7  and  Jacob  hearkened  to  his  father  and  to  his  mother,  and 

the  pet  of  the  household,  in  childhood  taught  the  bitterest  lesson  of  self  renunciation  and  sacri- 
fice, he  grew  up  averse  to  action,  patient  of  injuries,  trustful,  and  forgiving.  Of  his  contem- 
plative character  mention  is  made  in  ch.  24  :  63 ;  and  of  the  tender  sorrow  with  which  his 
mother's  memory  was  cherished  there  is  a  beautiful  record  in  v.  67.  "  Resist  not  evil,  but 
overcome  evil  with  good,"  was  his  life-principle,  as  exemplified  in  his  intercourse  with  Abirae- 
lech  and  his  herdsmen,  in  ch.  26  :  15-31.  When  invited  to  move  further  off,  because  he  was 
the  stronger  party  (v.  16),  he  patiently  obeyed.  When  violently  deprived  of  his  rights  in  the 
wells  he  had  caused  to  be  dug,  he  moved  further  on  and  dug  others  (vv.  19-22).  His  fondness 
for  Esau  is  an  instance  of  the  natural  attraction  of  contrasts,  often  seen  in  life.  His  forgiveness 
of  Jacob's  deception,  and  recognition  of  a  higher  will  than  his,  shows  his  readiness  to  accept 
the  correction  of  his  own  misdirected  zeal. 

There  was  nothing  in  the  circumstances  of  his  life  to  require  or  develop  those  commanding 
traits  which  distinguished  the  persop  and  mission  of  Abraham,  and  have  made  his  name  a 
household  word.  But  his  character  shines  with  a  mild  and  steady  radiance,  as  the  dutiful  son, 
the  affectionate  and  constant  husband,  the  kind  indulgent  father,  and  the  quiet  peace-loving 
citizen. 

Piety  was  the  leading  trait  of  his  character;  and  it  is  specially  recorded  of  him,  as  of  Abraham, 
that  where  he  paused  for  a  temporary  abode,  in  his  migrations,  he  erected  an  altar  to  Jehovah. 
See  ch.  26  :  25.  • 

Chs.  28-50.     Third  part  of  the  fourtb*division.     Family  history  of  Jacob* 

Ch.  28.  Jacob's  journey  to  Padan-aram.  Esau's  marriage  with  a  daughter  of  Ishmael. 
Jacob's  night-vision,  and  his  vow. 

VV.  1-4.  Isaac  here  follows  the  example  of  Abraham  in  ch.  24,  and  directs  Jacob  to  seek  a 
Wife  among  his  own  kindred.  He  now  bestows  on  him  the  blessing  of  Abraham,  apparently 
convinced  of  his  error  in  having  intended  the  blessing  of  the  first-born  for  Esau. 

Padan-aram;  see  the  note  on  ch.  25  :  20.  Of  thy  sojournings;  see  the  note  on  ch.  17  :  8. 
Laban;  see  ch.  24  :  29.    Bethuel;  see  ch.  22  :  20-23. 

115 


Chap.  xxvm.  GENESIS. 


8  went  to  Padan-aram.      And  Esau  saw  that  the  daughters 

9  of  Canaan  were  evil  in  the  eyes  of  Isaac  his  father.  And 
Esau  went  to  Ishmael  and  took,  in  addition  to  his  wives, 
Mahalath  daughter  of  Ishmael  Abraham's  son,  a  sister  of 
Nebaioth,  to  be  his  wife. 

10  And  Jacob  went  forth  from  Beer-sheba,  and  went  toward 

11  Haran.  And  he  lighted  upon  a  certain  place,  and  passed 
the  night  there,  because  the  sun  was  setting.  And  he 
took  one  of  the  stones  of  the  place  and  put  it  under  his 
head  ;  and  he  lay  down  in  that  place. 

12  And  he  dreamed  ;  and  behold  a  ladder  set  up  on  the 
earth,    its   top    reaching  to  heaven  ;  and  behold  angels  of 

13  God  ascending  and  descending  on  it.  And  behold  Jehovah 
standing  above  it ;  and  he  said  :  I  am  Jehovah,  the  God 
of  Abraham  thy  father,  and  the  God  of  Isaac.  The  land 
whereon  thou  liest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed. 

14  And  thy  seed  shall  be  as  the  dust  of  the  earth  ;  and  thou 

V.  9.  Went  to  Ishmael  ;  that  is,  to  his  family,  for  Ishmael  died  some  years  before.*  Nebaioth  ; 
tee  ch.  25  :  13. 

V.  10.  From  Beer-sheba,  in  the  southern  limits  of  Palestine,  he  would  proceed  northward  on 
Ma  way  to  Haran  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Mesopotamia,  passing  by  Bethel,  the  ancient  Luz 
(v.  19).     Beyond  this,  his  rotite  is  not  here  traced. 

He  was  compelled  to  leave  his  father's  home  stealthily  (ch.  27  :  43,  "flee  to  Laban  my 
brother")  through  fear  of  Esau,  and  without  the  conveniences  of  traveling  with  which  Abra- 
ham's servant  made  the  journey  (ch.  24  :  10).  It  is  possible  that  a  change  in  Isaac's  worldly 
estate  may  have  made  this  necessary. 

V.  11.  A  ctrtainplace.  By  this  is  meant  an  open  unoccupied  space  of  ground,  clear  of  all 
encumbrance,  with  nothing  to  prevent  his  occupation  of  it.f 

The  place  (another  rendering)  means  the  well-known  place,  rendered  memorable  by  the 
extraordinary  occurrences  connected  with  it,  as  related  in  this  chapter.  Compare  the  allusion 
made  to  them,  long  after  this,  in  ch.  35  :  1-3. 

He  lighted  upon  it ;  by  chance,  as  we  are  accustomed  to  say,  his  steps  being  directed  to  it 
without  any  human  guidance. 

V.  12.  And  he  dreamed,  etc.  In  this  vision,  a  ladder  is  seen,  connecting  earth  and  heaven. 
Jehovah  appears  above  it ;  and  on  it  angels,  his  messengers,  are  passing  from  him  to  earth,  and 
returning  from  earth  to  him. 

The  import  of  the  vision  seems  very  obvious.  It  i3  an  instructive  image  of  the  real  though 
tinseen  connection  of  the  heavenly  agencies  with  the  affairs  of  earth.  Its  special  design  here  is 
to  give  Jacob  the  assurance  of  an  ever-active  providential  agency,  though  invisible  to  him, 
through  which  the  promises  that  follow  shall  surely  be  accomplished.  The  record  of  it  conveys 
the  like  assurance  to  all  who  have  faith  in  an  overruling  Providence,  and  commit  themselves  to 
its  care. 

V.  14.    In  thee— and  in  thy  seed ;  see  the  remarks  on  ch.  12  :  3. 

*  Ishmael  was  fourteen  years  older  than  Isaac  (compare  ch.  16  :  16  with  ch.  21  :  5),  and  died 
at  the  age  of  a  hundred  and  thirty-seven  (ch.  25  :  17).  As  Isaac  was  of  that  age  at  this  time 
(see  the  note  on  ch.  27  :  1-4),  Ishmael  must  have  died  fourteen  years  before. 

t  So  the  word  is  used  in  Isaiah  28  :  8 ;  properly,  "  there  is  no  place,"  no  empty  aud  unoccu- 
pied space. 

116 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxvm. 


shalt  spread  abroad,  to  the  west   and   to   the  east,  and  to 
the   north    and   to    the    south  ;    and    in  thee   shall    all    the 

15  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed,  and  in  thy  seed.  And 
behold  I  am  with  thee,  and  will  keep  thee  in  all  the  way 
that  thou  goest,  and  will  bring  thee  back  to  this  land  ;  for 
I  will  not  leave  thee  until  I  have  done  what  I  have  spoken 
to  thee. 

16  And  Jacob  awoke  from  his  sleep.     And  he  said  :  Surely 

17  Jehovah  is  in  this  place  ;  and  I  knew  it  not.  And  he  was 
afraid,  and  said  :  How  dreadful  is  this  place  !  This  is  no 
other  than  the  house  of  God,  and  this  is  the  gate  of 
heaven. 

18  And  Jacob  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  took  the 
stone  that  he  put  under  his  head,  and  set  it  for  a  pillar, 

19  and  poured  oil  on  the  top  of  it.  And  he  called  the  name 
of  that  place  Bethel.  But  Luz  was  the  name  of  the  city 
at  the  first. 

20  And  Jacob  vowed  a  vow,  saying :  If  God  will  be  with 
me,  and   keep   me   in   this  way  that  I  am   going,  and  will 

21  give  me  bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on,  and  I  return 
in  peace  to  my  fathers  house,  then  shall  Jehovah  be  my 

22  God  ;  and  this  stone,  which  I  set  for  a  pillar,  shall  be  a 
house  of  God,  and  of  all  that  thou  givest  me  I  will  surely 
give  the  tenth  to  thee. 

V.  1C.  Jehovah  is  in  this  place ;  manifests  himself  here  also,  though  far  from  the  abode  of 
his  chosen  worshipers,  where  he  is  accustomed  to  reveal  himself. 

V.  17.  Was  afraid  expresses  the  dread  naturally  inspired  in  sinful  erring  man  by  the  con- 
scious presence  of  the  Divine.     Compare  Isaiah  G  :  ."j. 

V.  IS.  In  commemoration  of  the  vision,  and  to  mark  the  spot,*  he  erects  on  it  a  pillar, 
appropriately  using  the  stone  on  which  his  head  rested  during  the  vision  of  the  night. 

Poured  oil  on  U. e  top  of  it,  m  token  of  t':e  saored  purpose  for  which  he  set  it  up,  ami  to  which 
he  consecrated  it  by  this  act.     It  was  thus  set  apart  to  a  holy  use.    Compare  Ex.  30  :  2G-30. 

V.  19.  Bdliel—Lnz.  Compare  ch.  3,j  :  G,  4S  :  3;  Josh.  1G  :  2,  18  :  13;  Judges  1  :  23.  It 
Is  inferred  from  Josh.  10  :  2,  that  the  place  to  which  Jacob  gave  the  name  Bethel  was  not 
the  exact  site  of  the  city,  though  the  latter,  from  its  proximity,  was  afterward  called  by  that 
name. 

The  writer,  in  narrating  things  which  occurred  long  before,  might  mention  the  place  either 
by  its  later  name  which  it  bore  in  his  own  time,  as  in  ch.  12  :  8,  13  :  3,  or  by  its  earlier  name  as 
in  ch.  4  S  :  3. 

V.  22.  Shall  be  a  house  of  God;  compare  ch.  3J  :  1-7,  already  referred  to.  Will  give  the 
tenth  to  thee  ;  a  recognition  and  acknowledgment  of  him  as  giver  of  the  whole. 

*  That  it  might  be  identified  in  future  time.  Compare  the  use  afterward  made  of  this  place, 
ch.  35  :  1-7. 

lit 


Chap.  xxix.  GENESIS. 


1  And  Jacob  lifted  up  his  feet,  and  went  to  the  land  of 

2  the  sons  of  the  East.  And  he  saw,  and  behold  a  well  in 
the  field  ;  and  behold  there  three  droves  of  sheep  lying  by 
it,  for  out  of  that  well  they  watered  the  droves  ;  and  the 

3  stone  on  the  mouth  of  the  well  was  great.  And  thither 
were  all  the  droves  gathered  ;  and  they  rolled  the  stone 
from  the  mouth  of  the  well  and  watered  the  sheep,  and 
put  back  the  stone  on  the  mouth  of  the  well,  in  its 
place. 

*       And  Jacob  said  to  them  :  My  brethren,  whence  are  ye  ? 

5  And  they  said  :  We  are  from  Haran.  And  he  said  to 
them  :  Do  ye  know  Laban  son  of  Nahor  ?     And  they  said: 

6  We  know  him.  And  he  said  to  them  :  Is  he  well  ?  And 
they  said  :  He  is  well ;  and  behold,  Rachel  his  daughter  is 
coming  with  the  sheep. 

7  And  he  said  :  Behold,  it  is  yet  high  day  ;  it  is  not  time 
that  the   cattle   should   be  gathered  together.     Water  the 

8  sheep,  and  go,  feed  them.  And  they  said  :  We  can  not, 
until  all  the  droves  are  gathered  together,  and  they  roll 
the  stone  from  the  mouth  of  the  well,  and  we  water  the 
sheep. 

V.  2.     Or,  and  the  stone,  a  great  one,  was  on  the  mouth  of  the  well 

Ch.  23.  Jacob  continues  his  journey  to  Padan-aram.  Meeting  with  Rachel  at  the  well. 
Marriage  with  Leah  and  with  Rachel. 

V.  1.  Lifted  up  his  feet  and  went ;  a  mode  of  expression  by  which  the  Hebrew  indicates  any- 
thing of  formal  and  grave  import,  as  in  this  case  the  undertaking  of  a  long  and  difficult  journey. 
Compare  the  similar  purport  of  the  phrase,  "  H?  opened  his  mouth  and  taught  them," 
Matt.  5  :  2.  Land  of  the  sons  of  the  East;  here  referring  specially  to  Mesopotamia,  included 
in  Padan-aram  ;  see  the  note  on  ch.  25  :  20.    Compare  ch.  25  :  5,  C,  note,  third  paragraph. 

V.  2.  The  stone  on  the  mouth  of  the  well  refers  to  the  practice,  still  common  in  the  East,  of 
guarding  the  mouth  of  a  well  by  covering  it  with  a  heavy  stone,  not  easily  removed.* 

V.  3  describes  what  was  customarily  done,  not  what  was  done  at  this  particular  time. 

VV.  6-8.  7s  coming  ;  is  on  the  way,  this  being  the  hour  at  which  all  who  used  the  well  were 
expected  there  with  their  flocks.  It  is  not  necessarily  meant  that  she  is  near,  or  in  sight ;  see 
the  remark  in  the  next  paragraph. 

Water  the  sheep,  and  go  feed  them ;  said,  apparently,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  meeting 
with  his  kinswoman  in  private. 

We  cannot,  etc.;  it  being  the  rule,  that  the  stone  should  not  be  removed,  till  all  who  used 
the  well  were  present  with  their  flocks. 

*  "  In  approaching  the  ancient  Sychar,  I  passed  a  well,  the  mouth  of  which  was  stopped  with 
a  Btone  so  large  that  the  united  strength  of  two  men  would  be  required  to  move  it."— Dr. 
HackeWs  Illustrations  of  Scripture,  8th  ed.,  p.  91. 

118 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxel 


9  And  while  he  was  yet  speaking  with  them,  Rachel  came 
with  her  father's  sheep  ;  for  she  kept  them. 

10  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jacob  saw  Rachel  the 
daughter  of  Laban  his  mother's  brother,  and  the  sheep  of 
Laban  his  mother's  brother,  that  Jacob  came  near  and 
rolled  the  stone  from  the  month  of  the  well,  and  watered 
the  nock  of  Laban  his  mother's  brother. 

11  And  Jacob   kissed   Rachel,  and   lifted  up  his  voice  and 

12  wept.  And  Jacob  told  Rachel  that  he  was  her  father's 
brother,  and  that  he  was  Rebekah's  son.  And  she  ran 
and  told  her  father. 

13  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Laban  heard  the  tidings  of 
Jacob  his  sister's  son,  that  he  ran  to  meet  him,  and  em- 
braced him,  and  kissed  him,  and  brought  him  to  his  house. 
And  he  related  all  these  things  to  Laban. 

14  And  Laban  said  to  him  :  Surely  thou  art  my  bone  and 
my  flesh.     And  he  abode  with  him  a  month  of  days. 

15  And  Laban  said  to  Jacob :  Because  thou  art  my  brother, 
shouldst  thou  therefore  serve  me  for  nothing  ?  Tell  me, 
what  shall  be  thy  wages  ? 

16  And  Laban  had  two  daughters.  The  name  of  the  eldest 
was    Leah,    and   the    name    of  the    younger   was    Rachel. 

17  And  Leah's  eyes  were  weak  ;  but  Rachel  was  of  beautiful 
form,  and  of  beautiful  countenance. 

18  And  Jacob  loved  Rachel ;  and  he  said  :  I  will  serve 
thee  seven  years  for  Rachel  thy  younger  daughter. 

19  And  Laban  said  :  It  is  better  that  I  give  her  to  thee, 
than  that  I  should  give  her  to  another  man.    Abide  with  me. 

V.  0.  While  lie  was  yet  speaking.  The  conversation,  of  which  a  part  is  given,  was  continued 
till  Rachel  came  with  her  father's  sheep. 

For  she  kepi  them  ;  as  is  still  done  by  women  in  the  East.* 

V.  12.  Her  father's  brother  ;  meaning  his  near  kinsman,  the  word  being  often  used  with  thia 
latitude  of  meaning. 

V.  14.  A  mouth  of  days  ;  that  is,  fully  numbered  ;  an  entire  month,  with  its  full  complement 
of  days. 

V.  17.  Leah's  eyes  were  weak.  This  is  regarded  by  the  Orientals  as  a  great  defect,  bright 
and  sparkting  eyes  being  an  essential  element  in  feminine  beauty. 

*  "Just  beyond  El-Arish,  the  last  town  in  Egypt  before  entering  Palestine,  we  saw,  at  a  little 
distance  from  our  path,  a  flock  of  sheep,  so  immensely  large  as  to  excite  our  wonder.  .  .  . 
Three  women  were  watching  them."— Br.  Hackelt's  Illustrations  of  Scripture,  8th  ed.,  p.  105.    . 

119 


Chap.  xxix.  GENESIS. 


20  And  Jacob  served  for  Rachel  seven  years.  And  they 
were  in  his  eyes  as  a  few  days,  for  the  love  he  had  for 
her. 

31  And  Jacob  said  to  Laban  :  Give  me  my  wife,  for  my 
days  are  completed,  that  I  may  go  in  to  her. 

22  And  Laban  gathered  together  all  the  men  of  the  place, 

23  and  made  a  feast.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  evening, 
that  he  took  Leah  his  daughter,  and  brought  her  to  him  ; 

24  and  he  went  in  to  her.  And  Laban  gave  her  Zilpah  his 
maid-servant,  as  a  maid-servant  to  Leah  his  daughter. 

26  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  in  the  morning,  behold,  it 
was  Leah.  And  he  said  to  Laban  :  What  is  this  thou 
hast  clone  to  me  ?  Was  it  not  for  Rachel  that  I  served 
with  thee?     Wherefore  then  hast  thou'cleceived  me? 

26  And  Laban  said  :  It  must  not  be  so  clone  in  our  place, 

27  to  give  the  younger  before  the  first-born.  Complete  this 
one's  week  ;  and  we  will  give  thee  this  one  also,  for  the 
service  which  thou  shalt  serve  with  me  yet  seven  other 
years. 

28  And   Jacob    did   so,   and   completed  her  week  ;  and  he 

VV.  21-23.  The  betrothal  with  Kachel  had  taken  place  seven  years  before  (vv.  18,  19),  and 
she  was  now  to  become  his  wife  by  the  simple  ceremony  described  in  vv.  22,  23.  No  other  was 
required;  compare  the  note  on  ch.  24  :  G7,  second  paragraph.  In  such  a  case,  the  deception 
here  practiced  was  an  easy  matter. 

It  is  plain  that  this  was  no  marriage,  and  that  it  was  not  binding  as  such  on  Jacob  by  any 
principle  of  morals,  or  any  law  divine  or  human.  Hence  he  could  justly  claim,  as  his  lawful 
wife,  her  to  whom  he  had  been  betrothed,  and  whose  place  in  the  bridal  chamber  had  been 
fraudulently  talcen  by  another,  without  his  knowledge. 

The  divine  law  of  marriage  required  him  to  forsake  all  others,  and  cleave  to  her  alone.  That 
he  acted  otherwise  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  rude  state  of  society,  and  to  the  requirements  of  tho 
age  and  place  (v.  2G)  in  which  he  lived.  The  Bible  records  such  things  simply  as  historical 
facts,  being  responsible  only  for  the  truth  of  the  record  ;  and  they  are  instructive  as  showing 
what  human  life  and  society  have  been  under  peculiar  and  ever-varying  influences.  Its  own 
teachings  can  not  be  mistaken;  and  the  civilization  which  has  grown  up  under  their  guidance 
and  influence  attests  their  truth  and  efficacy. 

VV.  25-27.    Morning  comes,  and  Jacob  discovers  that  he,  in  his  turn,  is  the  victim  of  a  cruel 

•  deception.*  But  remonstrances  avail  nothing ;  Laban  pleading  now,  what  he  was  careful  not  to 
disclose  before,  the  custom  of  the  place.  Jacob  is  required  to  "  complete  this  one's  week,"  thus 
recognizing  her  before  all  as  his  wedded  wife,  and  after  that  he  can  have  his  betrothed  one,  the 
wife  of  his  choice,  for  another  seven  years'  service. 

This  one's  week  ;  the  week  during  which  the  usual  marriage  festival  continued.  See  Judges 
14  :12,  and  Tobit  11  :  19.     Laban  stipulates  that  Jacob  shall  not  withdraw  himself  from  Leah 

•  during  the  continuance  of  this  festival,  and  at  the  end  of  it  Rachel  shall  be  given  him,  and  for 
her  he  shall  serve  another  seven  years. 

*  "  Thus  he  who  cheated  Esau  is  cheated  by  Laban,  and  sin  is  punished  by  sin." — Keil, 
Biblischer  Kommenlar,  2te  Aufl.,  p.  213. 

120 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxx. 


29  gave  him  Rachel  his  daughter  for  his  wife.  And  Laban 
gave  to  Rachel  his  daughter  Bilhah  his  maid-servant  to  be 

30  her  maid-servant.  And  he  went  in  also  to  Rachel  ;  and 
he  loved  Rachel  more  than  Leah.  And  he  served  with 
him  yet  seven  other  years. 

31  And  Jehovah  saw  that  Leah  was  hated,  and  he  opened 

32  her  womb  ;  and  Rachel  was  barren.  And  Leah  conceived, 
and  bore  a  son,  and  she  called  his  name  Reuben.  For  she 
said  :  Jehovah  has  looked  on  my  affliction  ;  for  now  my 
husband  will  love  me. 

33  And  she  conceived  again,  and  bore  a  son.  And  she 
said  :  Jehovah  has  heard  that  I  am  hated,  and  lie  has 
given  me  this  one  also  ;  and  she  called  his  name  Simeon. 

84  And  she  conceived  again,  and  bore  a  son  ;  and  she  said : 
Now  this  time  will  my  husband  be  joined  to  me,  because 
I  have  borne  him  three  sons.  Therefore  was  his  name 
called  Levi. 

85  And  she  conceived  again,  and  bore  a  son  ;  and  she  said  : 
Now  will  I  praise  Jehovah.  Therefore  she  called  his  name 
Judah.     And  she  ceased  from  bearing. 


And  Rachel  saw  that  she  bore  no  children  to  Jacob. 
And  Rachel  envied  her  sister  ;  and  she  said  to  Jacob  : 
Give  me  children,  or  else  I  die. 

And  Jacob's  anger  was  kindled  against  Rachel  ;  and  he 


VV.  30,  31.     Went  in  also  to  Rachel.    See  the  remarks  on  vv.  21-23,  third  paragraph. 

Leak  was  hated;  was  disliked  and  neglected,  as  was  natural,  she  having  been  the  means  by 
which  Jacob  was  defrauded.  Yet  he  had  taken  her  to  be  his  wife  for  the  sake  of  gaining  another 
whom  he  preferred,  and  thus  she  in  her  turn  was  wronged;  and  his  twofold  wrong  was  visited 
on  him,  by  making  the  hated  one  fruitful  and  the  other  barren. 

V.  32.  Iieuben  (See,  a  son!)  is  the  triumphant  appellation  she  gives  to  her  first-born,  when 
she  finds  that,  not  only  a  child,  but  a  son  is  given  her. 

VV.  33-35.  With  a  more  subdued  gratitude  (for  she  had  not  won,  as  she  hoped,  her  husband's 
regard)  she  calls  her  second  son  Simeon  (a  bearing)  as  a  memorial  that  God  has  again  heard 
her.     Xeri  (a  joining).     Judah;  meaning,  praised  (namely,  praised  be  Jehovah). 

Ch.  30.     Birth  of  other  children  to  Jacob.     His  new  contract  for  service  with  Laban. 

W-  1-4.  Rachel's  longing  for  offspring  is  expressed  with  even  childish  simplicity  and  impa- 
tience.    But  the  longing  itself  is  nature's  voice,  implanted  by  God.  and  pleasing  in  his  sight.* 

To  satisfy  in  some  measure  this  longing,  she  resorts  to  an  expedient  common  in  that  age  and 
country.     Compare  the  introductory  remarks  on  the  sixteenth  chapter. 

*  "  The  chaste  desire  for  offspring  is  the  highest  aim  of  a  virtuous  marriage."— Dclitzsch,  uber 
die  Genesis,  p.  4GJ. 

121 


Chap.  xxx.  GENESIS. 


said  :  Am  I  in  place  of  God,  who  has  withheld  from  thee 
the  fruit  of  the  womb  ? 

3  And  she  said  :  Behold  my  handmaid  Bilhah  ;  go  in  to 
her,  and  she  shall  bear  upon  my  knees,  that  I  also  may 
be  built  up  from  her. 

4  And  she  gave  him  Bilhah  her  maid-servant  for  a  wife  ; 
and  Jacob  went  in  to  her. 

6  6  And  Bilhah  conceived,  and  bore  a  son  to  Jacob.  And 
Rachel  said  :  God  has  judged  me,  and  has  also  heard  my 
voice  and  given  me  a  son.  Therefore  she  called  his  name 
Dan. 

7  And  Bilhah,  Rachel's  maid-servant,  conceived  again,  and 

8  bore  a  second  son  to  Jacob.  And  Rachel  said  :  With 
wrestlings  of  God  have  I  wrestled  with  my  sister  ;  yea,  I 
have  prevailed.     And  she  called  his  name  Naphtali. 

9  And  Leah  saw  that  she  had  ceased  from  bearing  ;  and 
she  took  Zilpah  her  maid-servant  and  gave  her  to  Jacob 
for  a  wife. 

10  And  Zilpah,  Leah's  maid-servant,  bore  a  son  to  Jacob. 

11  And  Leah  said  :  Good  fortune  !     And  she  called  his  name 
Gad. 

12  And  Zilpah,  Leah's  maid-servant,  bore  a  second  son  to 

V.  3.  Upon  my  knees,  instead  of  the  birth-stool  then  in  use  ;*  indicating  by  this  that  she 
claimed  the  offspring  as  her  own.  The  common  explanation,  shall  bear  a  child  to  be  taken  on 
my  knees  by  me  as  its  mother, t  falls  far  short  of  the  meaning  of  the  phrase. 

Be  built  up  from  her.    See  the  remark  on  ch.  1G  :  2. 

V.  C.  lias  judged  me.  To  judge  one,  in  the  scriptural  use  of  the  phrase,  is  to  take  cognizance 
of  his  case  as  a  judge,  to  see  that  justice  is  done  him  and  that  he  is  protected  in  his  rights. 
Rachel  considered  herself  the  rightful  wife  of  Jacob,  and  as  such  entitled  to  the  rights  of  ma- 
ternity, with  its  privileges  and  honors,  of  which  she  had  hitherto  been  deprived. 

And  has  also  heard  my  voice,  etc.;  an  evidence  that  her  cause  was  right  and  the  judgment 
in  her  favor.  Dan;  meaning  Judge  (or,  he  judges). 

V.  8.  Wrestlings  of  God  ;  either  inspired  by  him,  such  as  he  alone  has  power  to  cause,  or 
wrestlings  with  him,  namely  in  prayer. $ 

With  my  sister  ;  as  competitor  Avith  her  for  the  divine  favor.  It  was  Avith  God  she  wrestled  in 
prayer  (if  we  adopt  the  second  explanation),  but  it  was  in  competition  with  her  sister  and  rival. 

Naphta'd;  meaning,  wrestled-for  (won  by  wrestling). 

V.  11.  Gad  ;  meaning,  good  fortune.  The  comment  on  the  name,  in  ch.  49  :  19,  is  suggested 
by  its  resemblance  to  another  word  meaning  troop. 

*  See  Ex.  1  :  16.    Its  use  is  approved  and  adopted  in  some  modern  countries. 

f  Compare  Job  3  :  12  (properly,  "why  were  the  knees  ready  for  me")  and  the  writer's 
remark  on  it.  Book  of  Job,  Part  Second,  explanatory  notes. 

%  Wrestlings  cf  God,  namely,  in  which  God  acts  as  judge  in  determining  the  issue,  as  inter- 
preted by  some,  is  more  remote  from  the  simple  and  natural  construction  of  the  phrase. 

122 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxx. 


13  Jacob.  And  Leah  said  :  Happy  am  I !  For  the  daughters 
will  call  me  happy.     And  she  called  his  name  Asher. 

14  And  Reuben  went  in  the  days  of  wheat-harvest,  and 
found  mandrakes  in  the  field,  and  brought  them  to  Leah 
his  mother.      And  Rachel  said  to  Leah  :  Give  me,  I  pray, 

15  of  thy  son's  mandrakes.  And  she  said  to  her  :  Is  it  a 
small  matter  that  thou  hast  taken  my  husband,  and 
wouldst  thou  take  my  son's  mandrakes  also  ?  And  Rachel 
said  :  Therefore  he  shall  lie  with  thee  to-night  for  thy 
son's  mandrakes. 

16  And  Jacob  came  from  the  field  in  the  evening.  And 
Leah  went  out  to  meet  him,  and  said  :  Thou  must  come  in 
to  me  ;  for  surely  I  have  hired  thee  with  my  son's  .man- 
drakes.    And  he  lay  with  her  that  night. 

17  And   God  hearkened   to   Leah  ;  and   she   conceived  and 

18  bore  a  fifth  son  to  Jacob.  And  Leah  said:  God  has  given 
my  reward,  because  I  gave  my  maid-servant  to  my  hus- 
band.    And  she  called  his  name  Issachar. 

19  And   Leah    conceived    again,  and    bore   a   sixth    son   to 

20  Jacob.  And  Leah  said  :  God  has  endowed  me  with  a 
good  dowry.  Now  will  my  husband  dwell  with  me,  be- 
cause I  have  borne  him  six  sons.  And  she  called  his  name 
Zebulun. 

21  And  afterward  she  bore  a  daughter  ;  and  she  called  her 
name  Dinah. 

22  And   God  remembered  Rachel  ;  and  God  hearkened  to 

V.  13.  The  daughters  (namely,  of  tlie  race  that  shall  spring  from  me)  will  call  me  happy,  for 
such  know  how  to  prize  the  blessing.     Asher  (happy). 

W.  14— 1*>.  We  have  here  another  instructive  incident  of  this  unhappy  connection,  showing 
the  jealousies  and  bickerings  that  necessarily  grew  out  of  it,  and  embittered  the  lives  of  all  the 
parties  to  it. 

Mandrakes  (mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  only  here  and  in  Cant.  7  :  13)  were  supposed  to 
promote  fruitfulness,  and  hence  were  desired  by  Rachel,  who  had  yet  borne  no  children. 

VV.  17-21.  God  hearkened  to  Leah.  Every  desired  gift  is  from  above,  bestowed  like  the 
sunshine  and  rain  (Matt.  5  :  45)  without  reference  to  desert.  When  the  sacred  writer  saya  that 
"God  hearkened  to  Leah"  and  bestowed  the  desired  blessing,  he  teaches  us  to  recognize  this 
truth,  leaving  out  of  view  the  desert  of  the  recipient  as  well  as  the  nature  and  grounds  of  the 
desire. 

She  claims  the  merit  of  having  yielded  her  place  to  her  maid-servant  for  hor  husband's  sake, 
and  regards  this  gift  as  her  reward.    Issachar ;  meaning,  reward  (or,  there  is  reward). 

Zebulun;  dwelling  (with  one),  intimacy.  Dinah,  meaning  vindication;  a  name  afterward 
given  her  from  the  occurrences  related  in  ch.  34. 

W  22-24.    Hearkened  Lo  her.    See  the  note  on  vv.  17-21,  first  paragraph.    My  reproach  ;  so 

123 


Chap.  xxx.  GENESIS. 


23  her,  and  opened  her  womb.  And  she  conceived,  and  bore 
a  son  ;  and  she  said  :  God  has  taken  away  my  reproach. 

24  And  she  called  his  name  Joseph,  saying  :  Jehovah  add  to 
me  another  son  ! 

25  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Rachel  had  borne  Joseph, 
that  Jacob  said  to  Laban  :  Send  me  away,  and  let  me  go 

26  to  my  place  and  to  my  land.  Give  me  my  wives  and  my 
children,  for  whom  I  have  served  thee,  and  let  m'e  go  ;  for 
thou  thyself  knowest  my  service  with  which  I  have  served 
thee. 

27  And  Laban  said  to  him  :  If  now  I  have  found  favor  in 
thine  eyes !  I  have  divined  that  Jehovah  blessed  me  on 
thy  account. 

28  And  he  said  :  Name  to  me  thy  wages,  and  I  will  give  it. 

29  And  he  said  to  him  :  Thou  thyself  knowest  how  I  have 
so  served  thee,  and  how  thy  cattle  have  been  with  me.     For 

it  was   little   which   thou   hadst  before  I  came,  and  it  in- 
creased to  a  multitude  :  and  Jehovah  has  blessed  thee  at 


barrenness  was  regarded,  as  being  an  adverse  visitation  of  Providence,  which  denied  a  boon 
prized  and  sought  by  all.    Compare  Luke  1  :  25. 

The  gift  of  a  first  son  she  receives  as  an  earnest  of  yet  more,  and  calls  his  name  Joseph  (May 
He  add!). 


The  reader  will  not  look  for  a  true  religious  sentiment,  though  there  is  much  semblance  of  it, 
in  such  a  rivalry  as  is  here  disclosed.  Both  parties  to  it  were  competitors  for  Jacob's  good 
will;  and  both  hoped  for  success,  as  the  worldly  often  do  in  seeking  their  selfish  ends,  from 
the  divine  blessing  on  their  own  devices.  God  overrules  all  for  ultimate  good,  and  through 
Bucb  instruments  as  these  works  out  his  wise  and  beneficent  ends ;  and  herein  are  seen  the 
wisdom  and  the  mystery  of  his  providence. 

In  this  disclosure  of  the  interior  life  of  Jacob's  household  we  have  an  instructive  picture  of 
the  evils  of  polygamy,  in  its  legitimate  results  as  here  described.  The  chaste  relations  of  hus- 
band and  wife,  with  their  refining  and  ennobling  influences,  give  place  to  a  cold  and  selfish 
sensuality.  The  peace  of  the  domestic  fireside  is  destroyed  by  conflicting  rival  interests.  Tha 
paternal  home,  the  sanctuary  where  God  intended  that  all  divine  influences  should  centre  and 
harmonize,  in  the  development  and  growth  of  the  human  spirit  into  the  likeness  of  God,  is  made 
the  scene  of  discord  and  strife.  It  is  no  wonder,  that  from  such  a  nursery  proceeded  such 
characters  as  are  some  of  those  described  in  the  subsequent  family  history  of  Jacob. 

VV.  25-28.  The  fourteen  years  of  service  for  Leah  and  Rachel  being  now  ended,  Jacob  asks 
to  be  released,  and  to  be  allowed  to  depart  in  peace  with  his  wives  and  children,  having 
faithfully  performed  the  required  service. 

If  now,  etc.     The  implied  request  is  more  forcibly  urged  than  if  expressed  in  words. 

I  have  divined.  To  div ine  means  to  ascertain  what  is  secret  or  obscure,  or  lies  yet  in  the 
future,  by  omens,  incantations,  and  the  like.  See  ch.  44  :  5,  15.  It  also  means  (as  it  perhaps 
does  here)  to  conjecture  such  things  by  one's  own  sagacity  and  observation.  I  perceive  by 
omens,  may  be  the  meaning  here. 

VV.  29,  .10.  Jacob  declines  any  stipulated  wages,  and  claims  instead  a  share  in  the  annual 
increase  of  the  flocks.    After  forcibly  stating,  in  these  verses,  how  greatly  Laban's  estate  had 

124 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxx. 


ray  footstep  ;  and  now,  when  shall  I  also  do  aught  for  my 
own  house  ? 

31  And  he  said  :  What  shall  I  give  thee  ?  And  Jacob  said : 
Thou  shalt  not  give  me  anything.     If  thou  wilt  do  for  me 

32  this  thing,  I  will  again  feed  thy  flock  and  keep  it.  I  will 
pass  through  all  thy  flock  to-day,  removing  from  thence 
every  one  that  is  speckled  and  spotted,  and  every  one  that 
is  brown  among  the  sheep  and  spotted  and  speckled  among 

33  the  goats,  And  such  shall  be  my  wages.  And  my  right- 
eousness shall  answer  for  me  in  time  to  come,  when  it 
shall  come  before  thee  concerning  my  wages  ;  every  one 
that  is  not  speckled  and  spotted  among  the  goats  and 
brown  among  the  sheep,  that  is  stolen  with  me. 

34  And  Laban  said  :  Behold,  let  it  be  according  to  thy 
word. 

85  And  he  removed  on  that  day  the  he-goats  that  were 
striped  and  spotted,  and  all  the  she-goats  that  were  speck- 
led and  spotted,  eveiy  one  in  which  there  was  any  white, 

increased  under  his  care,  while  no  provision  had  been  made  for  his  own  family,  he  proposes 
terms  more  just  to  himself  in  the  following  verses. 

At  myfootst  p ;  as  they  followed  my  guidance,  wherever  I  led  them. 

V.  32.  In  the  East,  white  is  the  normal  color  of  sheep,  very  few  being  black  or  brown,  while 
that  of  the  gnat  is  dark  or  gray,  seldom  white  or  spotted  witli  white.  Hence  Jacob's  proposal, 
to  take  for  his  wages  such  of  the  annual  increase  as  were  not  of  the  normal  color,  seemed  to  be 
a  very  moderate  one,  and  was  readily  accepted  by  Laban. 

Such  (namely,  the  portion  of  the  flock  so  marked  in  the  future*)  shall  be  my  wages ;  for  the 
year's  service,  is  meant,  as  appears  from  the  sub-equent  narrative  in  the  thirty-seventh  and 
following  verses.  It  is  plain  that  a  divisi  >n  was  made  every  year;  and  hence  Labau's  repeated 
change  of  the  terms  of  the  contract,  complained  of  by  Jacob  in  ch.  31  :  C,  7. 

V.  33.  The  rectitude  of  my  conduct  shall  answer  for  me  (on  my  part)  ;  and  if  any  other  than 
are  now  designated  shall  be  found  in  my  flocks,  let  it  be  accounted  stolen  with  me  (that  is,  the 
game  as  stolen),  and  be  restored  to  you  as  its  rightful  owner. 

Or  the  meaning  may  be  :  My  righteou-ness  (tic  righteousness  of  my  cause)  shall  answer  for 
me;  that  is,  I  will  trust  to  it  for  my  reward.  Any  other  than  are  now  designated  shall  be 
accounted  as  stolen  with  me,  and  as  belonging  to  you  the  rightful  owner,  the  remainder  being 
mine. 

The  latter  accords  with  the  peculiar  style  of  Oriental  bargaining,  and  is  probably  the  true 
meaning. 

When  it  shall  come  before  thee  concerning  my  wages ;  when  the  subject  of  my  wages  shall 
come  before  the  ■  for  adjustment,  from  year  to  year. 

W.  35,  36.  Audhe;  namely,  Laban  (acting  in  conjunction  with  Jacob,  see  v.  32),  as  is 
evident  from  the  last  clause  of  this  verse  and- v.  36. 

*  Not  the  portion  already  so  marked,  and  now  to  be  removed  from  the  flock.  For,  in  the 
first  place,  Jacob  received  nothing  from  Laban  (v.  31,  "  thou  shalt  not  give  me  anything"); 
and. secondly,  the  portion  thus  separated  Laban  "gave  into  the  hand  «(  bis  son-''  (v.  X>). 
Jacob's  wanes,  moreover,  were  not  to  be  paid  in  advance,  but  from  the  increase  of  the  flock  at 
the  end  of  the  season. 

125 


Chap.  xxx.  GENESIS. 


and  all  the  brown  among  the  sheep,  and  gave  them  into 

36  the  hand  of  his  sons.  And  he  put  three  days'  journey 
between  himself  and  Jacob;  and  Jacob  fed  the  flock  of 
Laban  that  remained. 

37  And  Jacob  took  rods  of  green  poplar,  and  hazel,  and 
plane-tree,  and  peeled  white  streaks  in  them,  laying  bare 

38  the  white  that  was  on  the  rods.  And  the  rods  which  he 
peeled  he  placed  in  the  troughs,  the  watering-troughs  of 
water  where  the   flocks  came   to   drink,  before  the  flocks. 

39  And  they  conceived  when  they  came  to  drink.  And  the 
flocks  conceived  before  the  rods  ;  and  they  brought  forth 
striped,  speckled,  and  spotted. 

40  And  the  lambs  Jacob  parted  ;  and  he  set  the  face  of  the 
flock  toward  the  striped  and  all  the  brown,  in  the  flock  of 

•  Laban.     And  he   put  his   own   droves  by  themselves,  and 
put  them  not  to  the  flock  of  Laban. 

41  And  it  came  to  pass,  whenever  the  flocks  that  were 
strong  conceived,  that  Jacob  laid  the  rods  before  the  eyes 
of  the  flocks  in  the  troughs,  that  they  might  conceive  by 

*2  the  rods.  And  when  the  flocks  were  feeble,  he  laid  them 
not ;  and  the  feebler  were  Laban's,  and  the  stronger 
Jacob's. 


Gave  them  into  the  hand  of  his  sons ;  that  they  might  be  kept  separate  from  the  rest,  since 
those  produced  with  such  marks  in  future  were  to  belong  to  Jacob.  For  the  same  reason  (v. 
36)  "  he  put  three  days'  journey  between  himself  and  Jacob." 

VV.  "7-4  5.  In  order  to  enlarge  his  own  share  of  the  annual  increase,  Jacob  avails  himself  of 
a  natural  law  of  reproduction  in  animals,  affecting  the  color  of  their  offspring,  which  he  had 
learned  by  observation,  or  from  others.  The  uses  he  made  of  this  knowledge  for  his  own 
advantage  are  called  by  Dr.  Chalmers  (Scripture  Readings,  i.,  CO)  "  sneaking  artifices."  It  may 
be  so ;  but  business  men,  in  most  callings,  seem  to  think  it  fair  and  honorable  to  make  use  of 
their  superior  knowledge  for  their  own  benefit.  There  is,  however,  a  wide  range  in  the  choice 
'of  means ;  and  in  the  selection  of  these  men  betray  their  differences  of  character.  But  the  cir-' 
cumstances  of  the  case  are  also  to  be  taken  into  account.  .  In  this  case,  Jacob  was  dealing  with 
one  whose  selfishness  knew  no  bounds,  and  scrupled  at  no  artifice  or  trick  (compare  ch.  29  :  23), 
and  who  repeatedly  changed  the  terms  of  this  contract  in  order  to  gain  something  for  himself; 
see  ch.  31  :  7,  8.  One  can  not  read  the  statement  in  ch.  31  :  38-42,  without  feeling  that  there  ia 
much  to  excuse,  if  it  does  not  justify,  the  use  made  by  Jacob  of  his  superior  skill. 

V.  40.  The  expression  is  very  brief,  and  the  sense  somewhat  obscure.  The  meaning  seems 
to  be,  that  Jacob  parted  the  lambs,  the  abnormal  in  color  from  the  rest,  and  set  the  face  of  the 
flock  toward  the  former;  the  clause,  "in  the  flock  of  Laban,"  being  explanatory  of  "face  of 
the  flock,"  limiting  it  to  the  part  that  remained  to  Laban. 

Put  Ids  own  droves  uy  themselves,  etc.  He  drove  his  own  cattle  to  pasture  and  to  watering 
by  themselves,  apart  from  Laban's,  that  their  increase  might  not  be  affected  by  the  normal 
colors  that  prevailed  in  what  fell  to  Laban's  share. 

VV.  41,  42.    Another  use  of  this  same  device.    Jacob  employed  it  only  when  the  more  vigorous 

126 


GENESIS.  Chap. 


43  And  the  man  increased  exceedingly ;  and  he  had  numer- 
ous flocks,  and  maid-servants,  and  men-servants,  and  cam- 
els, and  asses. 

1  And  he  heard  the  words  of  Laban's  sons,  saying  :  Jacob 
has  taken  all  that  belonged  to  our  father  ;  and  of  that 
which  belonged  to  our  father  has  he  made  all  this  wealth. 

2  And  Jacob  saw  the  countenance  of  Laban,  and  behold, 
it  was  not  toward  him  as  formerly. 

3  And  Jehovah  said  to  Jacob  :  Return  to  the  land  of  thy 
fathers,  and  to  thy  kindred  ;  and  I  will  be  with  thee. 

4  And  Jacob  sent  and  called  Rachel  and  Leah  to  the  field, 

5  to  his  flock.  And  he  said  to  them :  I  see  your  father's 
countenance,  that  it  is  not  toward  me  as  formerly.      But 

6  the  God  of  my  father  has  been  with  me.  And  ye  your- 
selves  know  that  with   all  my  power  I  have  served  your 

7  father.  And  }Tour  father  has  deceived  me,  and  changed 
my   wages   ten   times  ;  but   God   suffered    him    not   to  do 

8  me  harm.  If  he  said  thus  :  The  speckled  shall  be  thy 
wages,  then  all  the  flock  bore  speckled.  And  if  he  said 
thus  :  The  striped  shall  be  tky  wages,   then   all   the  flock 

9  bore  striped.  And  God  took  away  the  cattle  of  your 
father,  and  gave  them  to  me. 

10       And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  time  that  the  flock  conceived, 

of  the  flocks  were  brought  to  the  watering  place,  omitting  it  when  the  feebler  flocks  came,  and 
thus  secured  for  himself  the  best  part  of  the  annual  increase. 

V.  43.  The  man  increased.  Jacob  himself,  in  ch.  31  :  9,  ascribes  this  to  the  special  favor  of 
God.     See  the  remarks  on  ch.  31  :  10-13,  the  last  paragraph. 

Oh.  31.    Jacob's  flight  from  Padan-aram.    Covenant  between  Jacob  and  I.aban. 

VV.  1-3.  Jacob  is  now  divinely  directed  (v.  3)  to  return  to  his  home.  Il  was  evident,  how- 
ever, from  what  is  stated  in  vv.  1,  2,  that  he  would  not  be  allowed  to  go  in  peace,  with  the 
wealth  which  he  had  acquired.  He  therefore  proposes  to  depart  secretly ;  and  takes  an  oppor- 
tunity (v.  19)  when  Laban  and  his  servants  were  fully  occupied,  and  probably  would  not  be 
informed  immediately  of  his  movements. 

I  will  be  with  thie.  Jacob  is  thus  assured  of  the  divine  presence  and  protection  ;  but  he  does 
not,  on  that  account,  neglect  the  proper  precautions  for  securing  his  own  safety.  He  may 
have  thought  it  well  to  act  on  the  same  principle,  after  the  suggestion  made  to  him  in  tho 
dream  (v.  10). 

V.  4.  The  movement  he  was  about  to  undertake  required  seercsy,  and  he  therefore  sends  for 
them  to  the  field,  where  he  could  consult  with  them  in  private,  and  mature  his  plans,  without 
risk  of  disclosure. 

VV.  7,  S.  We  have  here  a  further  development  of  Jacob's  relations  with  Laban.  It  ia 
evident  that,  in  dealing  with  such  a  man,  the  odds  were  greatly  against  him. 

W.  10-13.    The  dream  first  related  (in  v.  10)  seems  to  have  occurred  near  the  commence- 

127 


Chap.  xxxi.  GENESIS. 


that  I  lifted  up  my  'eyes,  and  saw  in  a  dream,  and  behold, 
the  he-goats  that  leaped  upon  the  flock  were  striped, 
speckled,  and  piebald. 

11  And   an  angel  of  God  said  to  me  in  a  dream  :  Jacob  ! 

12  And  I  said  :  Here  am  I.  And  he  said  :  Lift  up  now  thine 
eyes,  and  see  all  the  he-goats  that  leap  upon  the  flock, 
striped,    speckled,  and  piebald  ;   for   I   have    seen  all  that 

13  Laban  does  to  thee.  I  am  the  God  of  Bethel,  where  thou 
didst  anoint  a  pillar,  where  thou  didst  vow  to  me  a  vow. 
Now  arise,  go  forth  from  the  land,  and  return  to  the  land 
of  thy  kindred. 

14  And  Rachel  and  Leah  answered  and  said  to  him  :  Have 

15  we  yet  any  portion  or  inheritance  in  our  father's  house  ?. 
Are  we  not  regarded  by  him  as  aliens  ?      For  he  lias  sold 

16  us,  and  has  also  quite  devoured  our  money.  For  all  the 
wealth  which  God  has  taken  from  our  father,  that  is  ours 
and  our  children's.  Now  then,  all  that  God  has  said  to 
thee,  do. 

17  And  Jacob  rose  up,  and  set  his  sons  and  his  wives  upon 

18  the  camels.  And  he  brought  away  all  his  cattle,  and  all 
his  goods  which  he  had  gathered,  the  cattle  of  his  getting, 
which  he  had  gathered  in  Padan-aram,  to  go  to  Isaac  his 
father,  to  the  land  of  Canaan. 


ment,  if  not  before,  of  his  final  and  successful  arrangement  with  Laban.  It  may  have  sug- 
gested his  devices,  or  have  been  suggested  by  them ;  or  the  same  train  of  waking  thoughts  may 
have  suggested  both.* 

The  second  dream  is  of  higher  significance,  and  occurred  near  the  close  of  his  cbnnection  with 
Laban  ;  see  the  last  sentence  of  v.  13. 

In  relating  this  to  his  wives,  to  account  to  them  for  his  successful  competition  with  Labanfhe 
says  nothing  of  the  means  by  which  he  himself  sought  to  insure  it.  The  dream  implies  no  judg- 
ment on  these  means;  and  only  reminds  him,  that  it  was  the  divine  favor  that  thwarted  and 
punished  the  grasping  aud  cruel  avarice  of  Laban. t 

V.  15.     Aliens  ;  as  if  not  of  his  own  family  and  kindred. 

Has  quite  devoured  our  money  ;  instead  of  bestowing  on  us  any  portion  of  what  we  brought 
him  by  our  marriage. 

V.  17.  The  camels ;  the  definite  article  denoting  that  they  are  those  already  spoken  of  in  ch. 
30  :  43. 

*  Piebald ;  sprinkled  over  with  ppots,  differing  from  speckled  (v.  33)  in  their  size,  the  latter 
denoting  smaller  spots  or  specks,  and  from  spotted  (v.  33)  in  their  number  and  distribution,  the 
latter  not  necessarily  implying  more  than  one. 

t  Whatever  judgment  may  be  formed  of  Jacob's  own  conduct,  the  reader  of  the  narrative 
will  admit  the  justice  of  his  complaint,  when  he  Bays  (in  v.  42) :  "  Thou  wouldst  now  have  sent 
me  away  empty." 

128 


GENESIS.  Chat,  xxxl 


And  Laban  had  gone  to  shear  his  sheep  ;  and  Rachel 
stole  the  teraphim  that  belonged  to  her  father.  And  Jacob 
stole  away  unawares  to  Laban  the  Aramite,  in  that  he 
told  him  not  that  he  was  about  to  flee. 

And  he  fled,  he  and  all  that  he  had.  And  he  rose  up, 
and  passed  over  the  river  ;  and  he  set  his  face  toward 
mount  Gilead. 

And  it  was  told  Laban  on  the  third  day,  that  Jacob  had 
23  fled.  And  he  took  his  brethren  with  him,  and  pursued 
after  him  seven  days'  journey  ;  and  he  overtook  him  in 
mount  Gilead. 


22 


V.  20.    Heb.,  stole  the  heart  of  Laban  the  Aramite 


V.  19.  Rachel,  taking  advantage  of  her  father's  temporary  absence,  stole  the  teraphim  that 
belonged  to  him. 

Teraphim  were  small  images,  kept  as  domestic  idols  or  household  gods.  This  was  one  of  the 
practices  of  heathen  superstition  often  met  with  in  the  Old  Testament.  Among  the  Hebrews, 
it  was  not  so  n-uch  a  form  of  idolatry  as  a  corrupting  superstition  engrafted  on  the  true  religion. 
Laban,  in  v.  50,  calls  these  images  his  gods;  and  in  ch.  35  :  4,  "strange  gods"  are  spoken  of, 
in  connection  with  another  superstitious  observance,  as  being  in  Jacob's  family  after  his  return 
to  his  hocie  in  Palestine.  It  i3  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  they  were  strictly  objects  of  wor- 
Bhip.  They  were  held  in  superstitious  veneration  as  dispensers  of  good  fortune,  and  as  a  pro- 
tectioa  against  evil  influences.  They  were  also  consulted  as  oracles;  Zech.  10  :  2,  properly, 
"  the  teraphim  have  spoken  vanity."* 

V.  20  (margin).  Stole  the  heart  of  Laban;  that  is,  put  his  sagacity  and  foresight  at  fault 
(heart  in  Hebrew  denoting  the  understanding  and  reason),  robbing  him  of  it,  so  to  speak,  by 
his  own  superior  craft. 

The  heart  being,  in  the  Hebrew  conception,  the  seat  of  feeling  as  well  as  of  understanding, 
this  phrase  may  also  have  (as  in  2  Sam.  15  :  G)  the  same  sense  as  it  has  in  English.! 

V.  21.  The  river.  So  the  Euphrates,  from  the  importance  of  its  geographical  position  and 
political  relations,  is  often  mentioned  without  further  designation.  See  Ex.  23  :  31 ;  Josh.  24  : 
2,  3  (common  English  version  "  the  flood,"  properly  "  the  river")  ;  2  Sam.  10  :  16  ;  1  Kings  4  : 
24;  1  Chron.  10:  1G;  Ezra  4  :  10,  16,  8  :  36 ;  Nen.  2  :  7,  9,  3  :  7;  Isaiah  7  :  20. 

Mount  Gilead.  Not  any  single  eminence  is  here  meant,  but  the  mountain  tract  of  that  name. 
The  route  taken  by  Jacob  on  his  return  is  clearly  indicated. J 

V.  23.  His  brethren;  the  kindred  of  his  own  tribe.  They  were  accompanied,  doubtless,  by 
their  servants  and  dependents,  and  together  were  too  numerous  to  be  successfully  resisted  by 
Jacob.    Compare  v.  29. 

*  In  the  common  English  version  they  are  called  teraphim  in  Judges  17  :  5,  IS  :  14,  17,  18, 
20;  Hosea  3:4;  and  improperly  images  (or  image)  in  Gen.  31  :  19  (margin,  teraphim)  34,  35  ; 
1  Sam.  1!)  :  13,  1G;  2  Kings  23  :  24;  Ezek.  21  :  21  (margin,  teraphim)  ;  and  idolatry  in  1  Sam. 
15  :  23 ;  and  idols  in  Zecji.  10  :  2  (margin,  teraphim).  As  another  object,  quite  different  from 
this,  is  designated  by  the  Hebrew  word  properly  rendered  image,  the  two  should  not  be  con- 
founded by  using  the  same  English  word  for  both. 

t  Lange,  in  his  commentary,  takes  it  in  this  sense  here  ;  understanding  by  heart  an  object  of 
affection,  and  referring  to  what  Laban  says  in  vv.  2G,  28.  But  though  Laban  might  affect  the 
sentimental,  it  is  not  so  probable  that  the  sacred  writer,  who  is  speaking  here,  would  give  him 
credit  for  it. 

%  "Jacob,  having  passed  the  Euphrates,    .    .    .    struck  across  the  desert  by  the  great  fount- 
ain at  Palmyra,  then  traversed  the  eastern  part  of  the  plain  of  Damascus,  and  the  Plateau  of 
Bashan,  and  entered  Gilead  from  the  northeast."— SmiUi's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Gilead. 
i  129 


Chap.  xxxi.  GENESIS. 


24  And  God  came  to  Laban  the  Aramite  in  a  dream  by- 
night,  and  said  to  him  :  Take  heed  to  thyself,  that  thou 
speak  not  to  Jacob  either  good  or  bad. 

25  And  Laban  came  up  with  Jacob.  And  Jacob  pitched 
his  tent  in  the  mountain  ;  and  Laban  with  his  brethren 
pitched  in  mount  Gilead. 

26  And  Laban  said  to  Jacob  :  What  hast  thou  done,  that 
thou   didst  steal   away  unawares   to  me,  and  bear   off  my 

27  daughters,  as  captives  of  the  sword  ?  Wherefore  didst 
thou  flee  away  secretly,  and  steal  away  from  me  ?  And 
thou  didst  not  tell  me,  that  I  might  send  thee,  away  with 

28  mirth  and  songs,  with  tabret  and  harp  ;  and  didst  not 
suffer  me   to  kiss  my  sons  and  my  daughters.      Now  hast 

29  thou  clone  foolishly.  It  is  in  the  power  of  my  hand  to  do 
you  harm.  But  the  God  of  your  father  spoke  to  me  yes- 
ternight, saying  :  Take  heed  to  thyself,  that  thou  speak 
not  to  Jacob  either  good  or  bad. 

50       And  now,  if  thou  wouldst  needs  go,  because  thou  greatly 

longedst  for  thy  father's  house,  wherefore  didst  thou  steal 

my  gods? 
31       And  Jacob  answered  and  said  to  Laban  :  Because  I  waa 

afraid  ;  for  I  said  :  Lest  thou  take  thy  daughters  from  me 
82  by  force.     With  whomsoever  thou  shalt  find  thy  gods,  let 

him  not  live.     Before  our  brethren  discern  for  thyself  what 


V.  24.  Either  good  or  bad;  leaving  him  no  discretion  or  choice  in  the  matter,  and  forbidding 
him  to  interfere  with  Jacob  in  any  way,  for  good  or  ill. 

V.  25.  The  mountain;  a  particular  eminence,  rendered  memorable  by  the  transaction 
recorded  in  vv.  44-49  ;  compare  v.  54. 

In  mount  Gilead;  in  the  same  mountain  tract,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  eminence  on  which 
Jacob  had  encamped. 

V.  27.     Tabret  and  harp  ;  as  in  Job  21  :  12,  the  accompaniment  of  mirth  and  festivity. 

V.  29.  He  uses  the  plural,  you,  your,  connecting  Jacob  with  his  family,  and  particularly 
with  his  sons,  to  whom,  as  well  as  to  Jacob,  Isaac  held  the  relation  of  father  in  the  Hebrew  usd 
of  the  word. 

V.  31.  I  said:  Lest  thou  take,  etc.  It  would  be  rhetorically  more  correct  to  say,  Lest  he 
take.  But  such  graceful  negligence  of  mere  form  is  characteristic  of  the  unstudied  manner  of 
the  sacred  writer. 

V.  32.  Let  him  not  live.  He  knew  not,  as  stated  in  the  last  clause  of  the  verse,  that  Rachel 
was' the  guilty  one.  As  head  of  all  his  household,  and  living  under  no  civil  government,  he  waa 
the  sole  magistrate,  and  vested  with  full  power  to  restrain  or  punish  crime.  The  expression 
means  no  more  than  that  he  would  screen  the  offender  from  no  deserved  punishment. 

Before  our  brethren,  namely,  the  friends  of  both  parties;  that  should  Laban  find  anything 
belonging  to  him  it  might  be  claimed  and  restored  in  their  presence,  and  in  failure  of  this 
Jacob's  innocence  be  vindicated.    Compare  v.  37. 

130 


GENESIS.  Chap.  tot. 


is  with  me,  and  take  it  to  thee.     For  Jacob  knew  not  that 
Rachel  stole  them. 

83  And  Laban  went  into  Jacob's  tent,  and  into  Leah's  tent, 
and  into  the  tent  of  the  two  maid-servants,  and  found  them 
not.  And  he  went  out  of  Leah's  tent,  and  came  into  the 
tent  of  Rachel. 

84  And  Rachel  took  the  teraphim  and  put  them  in  the 
camel's    saddle,    and    sat    upon    them.      And    Laban    felt 

35  through  all  the  tent,  and  found  them  not.  And  she  said 
to  her  father  :  Let  it  not  displease  my  lord  that  I  can  not 
rise  up  before  thee  ;  for  the  custom  of  women  is  upon  me. 
And  he  searched,  and  found  not  the  teraphim. 

36  And  Jacob  was  angry,  and  chided  Laban.  And  Jacob 
answered,  and  said  to  Laban  :  What  is  my  trespass,  what 

37  is  my  sin,  that  thou  dost  hotly  pursue  after  me  ?  For  thou 
hast  felt  through  all  my  goods ;  what  hast  thou  found  of 
all  thy  household  goods  ?  Set  it  here  before  my  brethren 
and  thy  brethren,  and  they  shall  judge  between  us  both. 

38  These  twenty  years  have  I  been  with  thee  ;  thy  ewes 
and  thy  she-goats  have  not  cast  their  young,  and  the  rams 

89  of  thy  flock  I  have  not  eaten.  What  was  torn  by  beasts 
I  brought  not  to  thee  ;  I  myself  bore  the  loss  of  it.  Of 
my  hand  didst  thou   require   it,  what  was  stolen  by  day, 

40  and  what  was  stolen  by  night.      Thus  I  was  ;  by  day  heat 

Y.  ?4.  A  saddle,  so  constructed  as  to  be  easy  and  comfortable  for  women  on  a  journey, 
•would  be  a  convenient  seat  for  their  use  in  the  tent,  while  halting  for  the  night  or  for  a  few  days' 
repose.     Such  are  now  in  use  in  Eastern  countries.* 

Felt  through.  The  word  is  purposely  chosen  to  express  the  minuteness  of  his  search,  groping 
with  his  hands  where  he  could  not  see.  One  can  not  help  a  feeling  of  satisfaction,  that  his  un- 
manly impertinence  was  thwarted. 

V.  36.  Answered  ;  namely,  to  the  charge  of  theft  (in  v.  30)  and  the  attempt  to  prove  it  by 
search. 

VV.  33  and  following.  Still  more  to  expose  the  unreasonableness  and  injustice  of  Laban's 
conduct,  ia  thus  pursuing  after  him  as  a  thief  and  a  robber,  Jacob  recounts  his  own  faithful 
labors  and  the  hardships  he  endured  in  Laban's  service,  and  the  attempts  to  defraud  him  of  his 
just  reward. 

V.  40.  In  Eastern  climates,  the  intolerable  heat  by  day  is  often  followed  by  as  excessive  cold 
at  night.f 

*  See  the  article  Furniture,  added  by  Dr.  Hackett  to  the  American  edition  of  Smit?i.'3  Dibla 
Dictionary. 

t  "  It  happened  to  me  frequently  to  need  all  the  precaution  I  could  adopt,  in  order  to  guard 
against  t'le  cold  at  night,  even  when  the  heat  of  the  preceding  day  had  been  as  great  as  could 
well  be  borne."— Dr.  Hackett,  Illustrations  of  Scripture,  8th  ed.,  p.  13G. 

131 


Chap,  xxxl  GENESIS. 


consumed  me,  and  cold  by  night ;  and  my  sleep  fled  from 
my  eyes. 

41  Thus  have  I  been  twenty  years  in  thy  house.  I  served 
thee  fourteen  years  for  thy  two  daughters,  and  six  years 
for  thy  flock  ;  and  thou  hast  changed  my  wages  ten  times. 

42  Unless  the  God  of  my  father,  the  God  of  Abraham,  and 
the  fear  of  Isaac,  had  been  for  me,  surely  thou  wouldst 
now  have  sent  me  away  empty.  My  affliction  and  the  toil 
of  my  hands  God  has  seen,  and  he  rebuked  it  yesternight. 

43  And  Laban  answered,  and  said  to  Jacob  :  The  daughters 
are  my  daughters,  and  the  sons  are  my  sons,  and  the  flocks 
are  my  flocks,  and  all  that  thou  seest,  it  is  mine.  And 
what  can  I  do  this  day  for  my  daughters,  for  these,  or  for 
their  sons  whom  they  have  borne  ? 

44  Now  therefore  come,  let  us  make  a  covenant,  I  and 
thou  ;  and  let  it  be  for  a  witness  between  me  and  thee. 

45  And  Jacob   took   a   stone,  aud   set  it  up   for   a  pillar. 

46  And  Jacob  said  to  his  brethren  :  Gather  stones.  And  they 
took   stones,  and  made   a  heap  ;  and  they  ate  there  upon 

47  the  heap.  And  Laban  called  it  Jega.r-sahadutha  ;  and 
Jacob  called  it  Galeed. 

48  And  Laban  said  :  This  heap  is  a  witness  between  me 
and  thee  this  day.     Therefore  its  name  was  called  Galeed  ; 

49  and  Mizpah,  for  he  said  :  Jehovah  watch  between  me  and 
60  thee,  when   we    shall  be   hidden   one  from   the  other.     If 

thou  shalt  afflict  my  daughters,  or  if  thou  shalt  take  wives 
beside  my  daughters,  no  man  is  with  us ;  see,  God  is 
witness  between  me  and  thee. 

V.  42.  Fear,  by  a  common  and  natural  metonymy,  is  put  for  the  object  feared ;  He  whom 
Isaac  feared,  regarded  with  reverence  and  holy  fear. 

Hadbeenfor me ;  as  the  same  Hebrew  form  and  sentiment  are  expressed  in  Psalm  6G  :  9, 
"  God  is  for  mc." 

V.  46.  Eating  together  was  a  testimony  of  friendship,  and  a  mutual  pledge  of  it.  The  heap 
of  stones,  on  which  this  was  done,  stood  as  a  perpetual  witness  of  the  pledge. 

V.  47.  Jegar-sahadulha,  in  the  Aramaean  tongue,  a  sister  dialect  of  the  Hebrew  spoken 
by  Laban  t'.ie  Aramite,  means  mound  of  testimony.     Galeed  has  the  same  meaning  in  Hebrew. 

VV.  49,  CO.     Mizpah  means  a  watching,  or  a  place  of  watching,  a  watch-tower. 

When  ice  shall  be  hidden  (by  distance)  one  from  the  other ,  and  neither  will  be  able  to  watch 
the  other.     No  man  is  with  us  ;  can  then  be  present  with  us  both,  to  act  as  witness  for  both. 

What  is  related  in  this  paragraph  (vv.  4S-50)  may  have  taken  place  at  a  meeting  of  Jacob  and 
Laban  by  themselves,  apart  from  all  others.  There  would  then  be  a  peculiar  and  solemn 
eignificance  in  the  words,  "  No  man  id  with  us ;  see,  God  is  witness  between  me  and  thee," 

132 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxxn. 


61  And  Laban  said  to  Jacob  :  Behold  this  heap,  and  behold 

62  the  pillar,  which  I  have  cast  between  me  and  thee.  This 
heap  be  witness,  and  the  pillar  be  witness,  that  neither 
will  I  pass  over  this  heap  to  thee,  nor  wilt  thou  pass  over 

63  this  heap  and  this  pillar  to  me,  for  harm.  The  God  of 
Abraham  and  the  God  of  Nahor  shall  judge  between  us  ; 
the  God  of  their  father.  And  Jacob  swore  by  the  fear  of 
his  father  Isaac. 

64  And  Jacob  offered  sacrifice  on  the  mountain  ;  and  ho 
called  his  brethren  to  cat  bread.  And  they  ate  bread,  and 
passed  the  night  in  the  mountain. 

55  And  Laban  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  kissed  his 
sons  and  his  daughters,  and  blessed  them.  And  Laban 
went  away,  and  returned  to  his  place. 

1  And  Jacob  went  on  his  way.     And  angels  of  God  met 

2  him.  And  Jacob  said,  when  he  saw  them  :  This  is  God's 
host.     And  he  called  the  name  of  that  place  Mahanaim. 

V.  53.  The  G  jd  of  their  father.  The  addition  of  this,  after  the  verb,  seems  intended  to  in- 
timate that  by  "  the  God  of  Abraham"  and  "  the  God  of  Nahor"  is  meant  also  "  the  God  of  their 
father,"  as  being  one  and  the  same.*  Influenced  by  filial  feeling,  Jacob  swore  "  by  the  fear  of 
his  father  Isaac  "  (fear,  as  in  v.  42),  meaning,  by  Him  whom  his  father  Isaac  feared. 

V.  55.  Laban  had  given  good  cause  for  what  is  said  of  him  in  vv.  14, 15.  But  the  most  selfish 
natures  have  the  instiuct  of  natural  affection,  and  are  often  deeply  moved  at  a  final  parting  with 
'its  objects. 

Ch.  32.  Jacob  proceeds  on  his  way;  is  met  by  angels.  One  in  the  form  of  man  wrestles  with 
him. 

VV.  1,  2.     Went  on  his  loay  ;  southward,  toward  the  river  Jabbok  (v.  22). 

On  his  way,  he  receives  an  assurance  that  he  is  journeying  under  the  divine  protectron.  la 
what  manner  he  was  made  aware  of  the  presence  of  this  celestial  convoy  is  not  stated.  It  may 
have  been  in  a  night  vision,  as  in  ch.  28  :  12  (for  "  met  him"  implies  no  more  than  that  it  occurred 
on  the  way),  or  in  the  manner  related  in  2  Kings  G  :  17. t  In  some  way  he  received  assurance 
once  more  of  what  was  divinely  promised  him  (ch.  31  :  3)  "  I  will  be  with  th  e." 

Mahanaim ;  meaning,  two  camps  (or,  two  hosts),  that  of  the  angels  encamping  near  him  for 
his  protection,  and  his  own. 

*  If  so,  the  true  God  continued  to  be  acknowledged  among  the  immediate  ancestry  of  Abra- 
ham; and  we  are  to  understand  Joshua  24  :  2,  as  meaning,  that  with  this  knowledge  were  con- 
nected idolatrous  superstitions  and  practices,  such  as  prevailed  in  Laban's  family  (v.  19,  and 
note),  and  even  in  the  family  of  Jacob,  ch.  35  :  2,  4. 

Some  think  that  Laban,  with  his  confused  notions  of  God,  here  confounds  the  God  of  Abraham 
with  the  false  gods  worshiped  by  Nahor  and  their  father;  and  that  Jacob,  to  avoid  sharing  in 
this  error,  swears  by  the  God  of  his  own  father  Isaac.  But  this  seems  like  refining,  and  not 
very  happily,  on  the  simple  directness  of  the  sacred  writer's  statement. 

t  "Jacob  beheld  them  during  his  march  (?),and  therefore  when  he  was  awake  ;  not  inwardly, 
but  externally  to  himself  or  above  him,  but  whether  with  the  bodily  or  the  spiritual  eye  (com- 
pare 2  Kings  C  :  17)  can  not  be  determined." — Keil,  Commenlar  uber  die  Genesis,  2tc  Anfl., 
p.  225. 

133 


Chap.  xxxn.  GENESIS. 


8  And  Jacob  sent  messengers  before  him  to  Esau  his 
4  brother,  to  the  land  of  Seir,  the  country  of  Edom.  And 
he  commanded  them,  saying  :  Thus  shall  ye  say  to  my 
lord,  to  Esau,  thy  servant  Jacob  says  thus :  I  have  sojourn- 
6  ed  with  Laban,  and  remained  till  now.  And  I  have  oxen 
and  asses,  flocks,  and  men-servants  and  maid-servants  ;  and 
I  have  sent  to  tell  my  lord,  that  I  may  find  favor  in  thy 
sight. 

6  And  the  messengers  returned  to  Jacob,  saying :  We 
came  to  thy  brother,  to  Esau  ;  and  indeed  he  is  coming  to 
meet  thee,  and  four  hundred  men  with  him. 

7  And  Jacob  was  greatly  afraid,  and  he  was  distressed. 
And  he  divided  the  people  that  were  with  him,  and  the 
flocks,    and  the   herds,   and   the    camels,   into    two    bands. 

8  And  he  said  :  If  Esau  shall  come  to  the  one  band,  and 
smite  it,  then  the  other  band  that  is  left  will  escape. 

9  And  Jacob  said  :  0  God  of  my  father  Abraham,  and 
God  of  my  father  Isaac,  Jehovah,  who  said  to  me,  Return 
to  thy  land  and  to  thy  kindred,  and  I  will  deal  well  with 

10  thee.  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least  of  all  the  mercies, 
and  of  all  the  truth,  which  thou  hast  shown  to  thy  servant ; 
for  with   my  staff  I   passed   over   this  Jordan,  and   now  I 

11  have  become  two  bands.  Deliver  me,  I  pray,  from  the 
hand  of  my  brother,  from  the  hand  of  Esau  ;  for  I  fear 
him,  lest  he  shall  come  and  smite  me,  the  mother  with  the 

12  children.  And  thou  thyself  hast  said,  I  will  surely  deal 
well  with  thee,  and  will  make  thy  seed  as  the  sand  of  the 
sea,  which  can  not  be  numbered  for  multitude. 

V.  3.    Seir.    See  ch.  14  :  G,  a,nd  note.    Edom  (ch.  25  :  30)  was  the  later  name  of  this  region.* 
V.  4.    I  have  sojourned  with  Laban,  a  stranger  in  a  foreign  land,  away  from  home  and 

country,  is  his  claim  on  a  brother's  sympathy  and  forgiveness. 
V.  6.    Four  hundred  men  with  him.     Compare  ch.  27  :  40,  "  By  thy  sword  shalt  thou  live." 
V.  10.     With  my  staff;  with  nothing  but  my  staff,  that  being  all  my  wealth. 
Over  this  Jordan ;  now  not  far  distant,  and  reminding  him  of  the  different  circumstances  in 

which  he  crossed  it  then  and  now. 
V.  11.     The  mother  with  the  children  ;  not  sparing  even  the  mother  and  her  tender  offspring. 

This  addition  defines  his  meaning  in  the  preceding  clause,  and  shows  that  his  anxiety  was 

chiefly  for  them. 

*  "  The  narrow  mountainous  tract  (about  a  hundred  miles  long  by  twenty  broad)  extending 
along  the  eastern  side  of  the  Arabah,  from  the  northern  end  of  the  gulf  of  Elath  to  near  the 
southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea."— Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Edom. 

134 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxxil 


13  And  he  lodged  there  that  night.  And  he  took  of  that 
which   had   come    into   his   hand   a   present   for   Esau   his 

14  brother ;  two  hundred  she-goats  and  twenty  he-goats,  two 

15  hundred  ewes  and  twenty  rams,  thirty  milch  camels  and 
their  colts,  forty  heifers  and  ten  steers,  twenty  she-asses, 

16  and  ten  young  asses.  And  he  gave  them  into  the  hand  of 
his  servants,  each  drove  by  itself.  And  he  said  to  his 
servants  :  Pass  over  before  me,  and  put  a  space  between 
drove  and  drove. 

17  And  he  commanded  the  foremost,  saying  :  "When  Esau 
my  brother  shall  meet  thee,  and  ask  thee,  saying  :  Whose 
art  thou,  and  whither  art  thou  going,  and  whose  are  these 

18  before  thee  ?  Then  thou  shalt  say  :  Thy  servant  Jacob's  ; 
it  is  a  present  sent  to  my  lord,  to  Esau  ;  and  behold,  he 
also  is  behind  us. 

19  And  he  commanded  the  second,  also  the  third,  also  all 
that  followed  the  droves,  saying  :  After  this  manner  shall 

20  ye  speak  to  Esau,  when  ye  find  him.  And  say  also  :  Be- 
hold, thy  servant  Jacob  is  behind  us.  For  he  said  :  I  will 
appease  him  with  the  present  that  goes  before  me,  and 
afterward  I  will  see  his  face.     Perhaps  he  will  accept  me. 

V.  13.     Or,  which  came  at  his  hand  V.  20.    Reb.,  I  will  cover  his  face  with  the  present 

V.  13.  Into  his  hand ;  into  his  possession.  The  Hebrew  may  also  be  translated  (as  in  the 
margin)  at  his  hand  ;  namely,  by  his  side,  with  him. 

V.  15.  Young  asses;*  full  grown,  and  fit  for  bearing  burdens  and  for  other  labor,  as  in  Isaiah 
30  :  6  (English  version  correctly,  "young  asses"),  and  v.  24  (English  version,  "young  asses," 
properly  that  till  Vie  ground),  and  for  riding,  as  in  Judges  10  :  4  (English  version,  "  ass  colts"). 

VV.  10-20.  Here  again  Jacob  shows  his  worldly  wisdom.  The  disposition  of  this  p'  inecly 
present  in  several  droves,  following  one  another  at  intervals  (v.  1G),  was  such  as  to  repeat  the 
favorable  impression  made  by  each,  as  they  successively  came  before  Esau  accompanied  with  a 
conciliatory  message.  The  announcement  made  with  the  first,  and  repeated  with  each  suc- 
ceeding one,  "thy  servant  Jacob  is  behind  us,"  would  give  time  for  reflection  and  kindly  im- 
pressions, before  their  meeting.-)- 

V.  20  (margin).  Will  cover  his  face;  that  is,  will  appease  him.  Sec  the  note  on  ch.  20  :  16, 
Erst  paragraph. 

V.  20.  Will  accept  me.  To  accept  one  means  to  receive  him  graciously,  and  deal  kindly  with 
him  ;  if  as  a  suitor  for  some  favor  (ch.  ID  :  21),  it  implies  that  his  request  is  favorably  heard  and 
granted  ;  if  as  an  intercessor  for  others  (Job  42  :  8,  9) ,  that  he  is  graciously  heard  on  their  behalf. 

*  Not  foals  (in  this  passage)  as  in  the  common  English  version,  for  then  the  number  would  be 
the  same  as  that  of  the  dams. 

t  The  number  of  those  who  had  charge  of  the  present,  and  successively  made  their  appear- 
ance with  their  several  messages,  was  also  an  expression  of  consideration  and  respect  for  the 
personage  to  whom  it  was  delivered. 

135 


Chap,  xxxii.  GENESIS. 


21  And  the  present  went  over  before  him ;  and  he  himself 
lodged  that  night  in  the  encampment. 

22  And  he  rose  up  that  night,  and  took  his  two  wives,  and 
his  two   maid-servants,    and   his   eleven   sons,    and    passed 

23  over  the  ford  of  Jabbok.  And  he  took  them,  and  sent 
them  over  the  brook,  and  sent  over  that  which  he  had. 

24  And  Jacob  was  left   alone.     And   a  man  wrestled  with 

25  him  till  the  rising  of  the  dawn.  And  he  saw  that  he  pre- 
vailed not  against  him  ;  and  he  touched  the  hollow  of  his 
thigh,  and  the  hollow  of  Jacob's  thigh  was  out  of  joint  as 

26  he  wrestled  with  him.  And  he  said  :  Let  me ,  go,  for  the 
dawn  is  rising.     And  he  said  :  I  will  not  let  thee  go,  ex- 


V.  22.     Tliat  nighl;  the  same  that  is  mentioned  in  v.  13. 

Passed  over ;  in  the  person  of  hi3  family  is  meant,  for  he  himself  remained  behind  in  the  place 
of  the  encampment  (vv.  21,  24).* 

VV.  24-32.  The  mysterious  occurrence  here  related  had  a  deep  significance  for  Jacob's  sub- 
sequent character  and  mission,  as  well  as  in  its  wider  influence  in  the  sphere  of  revelation. 
The  errors  and  weaknesses  in  Jacob's  spiritual  character  required  to  be  corrected  and  strength- 
ened ;  and  the  wisdom  of  God  selected  the  means  best  adapted  to  his  spiritual  state. 

Left  alone,  in  the  silence  of  the  night,  he  is  visited  by  a  celestial  being  in  human  form  (com- 
pare oh.  18),  with  whom  he  maintains  a  struggle  till  the  dawn. 

Three  points  are  to  be  noted  here  :  First,  the  celestial  visitor  presents  himself  to  Jacob  as  an 
antagonist,  but  only  to  test  him.  Secondly,  he  does  not  prevail  against  him  (v.  25  and  note), 
and  yet  by  a  touch  (or  stroke)  disables  and  renders  him  helpless.  Thirdly,  he  declares  Jacob 
to  be  the  successful  contestant,  saying  :"  thou  hast  striven     .     .     .    and  hast  prevailed." 

The  divine  lesson  is,  that  Jacob  in  his  own  strength  is  helpless,  and  in  his  weakness  is  strong; 
that  he  prevails  in  that  importunity  of  prayer,  "  I  will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou  bless  me," 
which  has  become  the  watchword  of  the  church  in  all  ages. 

Some  would  resolve  this  account  into  a  merely  figurative  representation  of  the  power  of 
prayer,  under  the  striking  and  familiar  image  of  wrestling  for  a  prize.  To  many  minds  this  view 
may  seem  to  be  the  most  reasonable  and  instructive.  But  to  the  view  itself  there  are  the  follow- 
ing objections:  First,  so  purely  spiritual  a  conception  of  the  scene  does  not  accord  with  the 
stage  of  spiritual  development  to  which  Jacob  had  attained,  as  is  clear  from  his  previous  record. 
Secondly,  it  is  not  in  harmony  with  God's  method  of  dealing  with  men,  at  this  early  stage  in  the 
spiritual  development  of  the  race,  as  is  shown  in  all  the  records  of  this  book.  Thirdly,  it  does 
not  agree  with  the  terms  of  the  account,  especially  the  evident  allusion  to  a  physical  disability 
inflicted  at  this  time  (vv.  25,  31). 

V.  24.     Aman;  one  in  human  form.     Compare  v.  30,  and  cli.  18  :  1,  2. 

V.  25.  That  he  prevailed  not  against  him;  that  Jacob  maintained  the  contest,  and  would 
not  be  overcome.  It  was  a  trial,  not  of  physical  force  merely,  but  of  moral  purpose  and  per- 
sistency. 

Hollow  of  his  thigh;  referring  to  the  hip  joint,  the  position  of  which  is  indicated  by  the 
external  hollow  of  the  thigh.  The  anatomical  reference  to  the  socket  of  the  thigh,  which 
receives  the  ball  of  the  thigh-bone,  may  be  intended  as  supposed  by  some,  but  is  not  so 
probable. 
V.  2G.  The  dawn  is  rising  ;  announcing  the  return  of  day  and  of  its  appropriate  duties. 
It  may  be  true  also,  that  this  mysterious  being  did  not  choose,  on  this  occasion,  to  manifest 
himself  otherwise  than  he  had  done  in  the  solemn  stillness  and  darkness  of  the  night. 

*  "  Jacob,  as  chief  director  of  all,  remained  on  the  spot,  in  order  to  see  that  no  one  was  left 
behind,  and  at  last  he  was  there  alone." — Knobel,  die  Genesis  erklart,  2te  Aufl.,  p.  258. 

136 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxxm. 


27  cept  thou  bless  me.     And  he   said  to  him  :  What  is  thy 

28  name  ?  And  he  said  :  Jacob.  And  he  said  :  Thy  name 
shall  no   more   be   called  Jacob,  but  Israel ;  for  thou  hast 

29  striven  with  God,  and  with  men,  and  hast  prevailed.  And 
Jacob  asked  and  said  :  Tell,  I  pray,  thy  name.  And  he 
said  :  Wherefore  is  this,  that  thou  askest  for  my  name  ? 
And  he  blessed  him  there. 

30  And  Jacob  called  the  name  of  the  place  Peniel ;  for  I 
have  seen  God  face  to  face,  and  my  soul  was  delivered. 

31  And  the  sun  rose  upon  him  as  he  passed  over  Penuel. 
And  he  limped  on  his  thigh. 

32  Therefore  the  children  of  Israel  do  not  eat  of  the  sinew 
of  the  thigh,  which  is  on  the  hollow  of  the  thigh,  unto  this 
day  ;  because  he  touched  the  hollow  of  Jacob's  thigh,  the 
sinew  of  the  thigh. 

1  And  Jacob  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  saw,  and  behold,  Esau 
was  coming,  and  with  him  four  hundred  men.  And  he 
divided   the   children   to   Leah,  and  to  Rachel,  and  to  the 

2  two  maid-servants.  And  he  put  the  maid-servants  and 
their   children  foremost,  and  Leah  and  her  children  after, 

3  and  Rachel  and  Joseph  last.  And  he  himself  passed  on 
before  them  ;  and  he  bowed  himself  to  the  earth  seven 
times,  until  he  came  near  to  his  brother. 


V.  28.  Israel;  meaning,  one  who  strives  with  God,  and  (by  implication)  lias  power  with 
him. 

And  with  men  ;  that  is,  as  he  had  already  striven  successfully  with  men. 

V.  2D.  Wlierefore  is  (his,  that  thou  askestfor  my  name?  The  refusal,  implied  in  the  ques- 
tion thus  emphatically  expressed,  accords  with  the  mysterious  reserve  in  which  the  character 
of  this  personage  is  vailed.    Compare  the  note  on  v.  2C>,  second  paragraph. 

VV.  30,  31.  Peniel;  meaning,  face  of  God.  Fenuel  (v.  31);  another  form  of  the  word,  with 
the  same  meaning. 

My  soul  was  delivered.  See  the  remarks  on  ch.  1C  :  13,  14,  third  paragraph,  and  the  refer- 
ences there  given.  On  the  contrary,  compare  the  influence  of  a  purer  faith  and  more  intimate 
walk  with  God,  in  the  case  of  Abraham,  ch.  18. 

V.  32.  Do  not  cat  of  the  sinew  of  the.  thigh.  No  further  notice  of  this  observance  OCcnra  in 
the  Old  Testament.  But  in  the  Jewish  traditions  (compare  Matt.  15  :  2,  Mark  7  :  3),  as  collect- 
ed in  the  Talmud  written  after  the  time  of  Christ,  minute  directions  are  given  respecting  it. 

Ch.  33.  Meeting  of  Jacob  and  Esau.  Jacob  comes  into  the  land  of  Canaan.  lie  purchases 
a  piece  of  ground,  and  erects  an  altar  to  Gon  the  God  of  Israel. 

V.  1.     With  him  four  hundred  men.    Sec  the  reference  in  the  note  on  ch.  32  :  C. 

Divided  the  children  to  Leah,  etc.;  to  each  her  own,  so  disposing  them  that*  those  dearest  to 
him  would  be  least  exposed,  and  have  opportunity  to  escape  in  case  of  danger. 

137 


Chap,  xxxin.  GENESIS. 


4  And  Esau  ran  to  meet  him,  and  embraced  him,  and  fell 
on  his  neck,  and  kissed  him  ;  and  they  wept. 

6  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  the  women  and  the 
children  ;  and  he  said  :  Who  are  these  to  thee  ?  And  he 
said  :  The  children  whom  God  has  graciously  given  thy 
servant. 

6  And  the  maid-servants  came  near,  they  and  their  chil- 

7  dren,  and  they  bowed  themselves.  And  Leah  also  and  her 
children  came  near,  and  bowed  themselves.  And  after- 
ward Joseph  and  Rachel  came  near,  and  bowed  themselves. 

8  And  he  said  :  What  meanest  thou  by  all  this  drove  that 
I  met?     And.  he   said:  To  find  favor  in  the  sight  of  my 

9  lord.  And  Esau  said  :  I  have  abundance,  my  brother  ; 
keep  what  thou  hast  for  thyself. 

10  And  Jacob  said  :  Nay,  I  pray,  if  now  I  have  found 
favor  in  thy  sight,  take  my  present  from  my  hand  ;  for 
therefore  have  I  seen  thy  face,  as  if  I  saw  the  face  of  God, 

11  and  thou  wast  favorable  to  me.     Take,  I  pray,  my  blessing 
that  is  brought  to  thee  ;  because  God  has  dealt  graciously 
with  me,  and  because  I  have  all.     And  he   pressed  him 
and  he  took  it. 

12  And  he  said  :  Let  us  break  up  and  go,  and  I  will  go 
before  thee. 


V.  4.  All  Jacob's  precautions  proved  to  be  unnecessary,  and  only  showed  how  timid  a 
counselor  is  conscious  ill  desert. 

Impulsive  and  generous  in  his  nature,  prompt  to  avenge  and  to  forget  an  injury,  Esau  sees  in 
him  only  the  twin  partner  of  his  birth,  the  companion  of  his  childhood's  sports,  the  only  and 
the  long  lost  brother. 

He  was  a  model  freebooter ;  and  many  such  have  given  a  startling  brilliancy  to  the  annals  of 
that  free-handed  class  of  men,  as  free  with  what  belongs  to  others  as  with  their  own.  Naturai 
affection,  generous  impulses,  readiness  to  overlook  injuries,  scorn  of  revenge,  have  distinguished 
many  who  were  the  terror  and  scourge  of  their  kind. 

V.  5.     Who  are  iheseto  thee?    That  is,  in  what  relation  do  they  stand  to  thee  ? 

W.  8,  9.  Jacob,  by  his  mode  of  address  ("  my  lord"'),  is  careful  not  to  remind  Esau  of  the 
pre-eminence  awarded  to  himself  ("  I  have  made  him  thy  lord,"  ch.  27  :  37).  On  the  contrary, 
Esau  addiesses  him  by  the  fraternal  title,  "my  brother." 

VV.  10,  11.  Jacob  pleads  the  favor  already  shown  him  by  Esau,  as  the  ground  of  a  yet  further 
favor,  the  acceptance  of  his  expression  of  grateful  joy. 

To  "  behold  the  face  of  God"  is  to  be  received  by  him  with  favor  (Job  33  :  2G),  as  the  "  hiding 
of  his  face"  is  the  withholding  of  his  favor;  Deut.  31  :  17;  Job  13  :  24 ;  Psalm  8S  :  14. 

My  Messing ;  as  being  accompanied  with  fraternal  greeting  and  well-wishes.  Compare  this 
use  of  the  word  in  1  Sam.  25  :  27,  and  30  :  26  (properly,  "  Behold  a  blessing  for  you"). 

I  have  all ;  all  things,  namely  of  every  kind,  and  nothing  is  wanting  to  me. 

V.  12.    Let  us  break  up;  in  allusion  to  the  breaking  up  of  an  encampment. 

138 


GENESIS.  *  Chap.  xxxm. 


13  And  he  said  to  him  :  My  lord  knows  that  the  children 
are  tender,  and  the  flocks  and  herds  that  give  suck  arc 
with   me  ;  and   if  they   drive    them  hard   one  day,  all  the 

14  flock  will  die.  Let  my  lord,  I  pray,  pass  on  before  his 
servant ;  and  I  will  lead  'on  in  my  slow  way,  at  the  pace 
of  the  cattle  that  are  before  me,  and  at  the  pace  of  the 
children,  until  I  shall  come  to  my  lord,  to  Seir. 

15  And  Esau  said  :  Let  me  now  leave  with  thee  some  of 
the  people  who  are  about  me.  And  he  said  :  What  need 
of  this  ?     Let  me  find  favor  in  the  sight  of  my  lord. 

16  n  And  Esau  returned  that  day  on  his  way  to  Seir.  And 
Jacob  removed  to  Succoth  ;  and  he  built  for  himself  a 
house,  and  for  his  cattle  he  made  booths.  Therefore  the 
name  of  the  place  is  called  Succoth. 

18  And  Jacob  came  safe  to  the  city  of  Shechem,  which  is 
in  the   land  of  Canaan,  when  he  came  from  Padan-aram  ; 

19  and  he  pitched  his  tent  before  the  city.  And  he  bought 
the  part  of  the  field  where  he  stretched  his  tent,  from  the 

V.  IS.     Or,  came  to  Shalem,  a  city  of  Shechem 

V.  13.    Jacob  courteously  declines  the  proffjred  escort,  knowing  that  he  is  safer  without  it. 

The  children;  compare  the  remark  on  v.  14.  second  paragraph. 

The  flocks  and  herds  that  gioe  suck ;  such  being  kept  in  separate  droves,  for  greater  security 
and  for  special  care. 

V.  14.  In  my  slow  way  is  characteristic  of  the  movement  of  herdsmen  and  their  families,  in 
distinction  from  the  rapid  unencumbered  march  of  Esau  and  hi3  men. 

At  the  pace  of  Vie  children.  Jacob's  own  children  rode  on  the  camels  (ch.  31  :  IT)  ;  but  there 
were  others  in  the  train  belonging  to  his  household  servants  and  his  numerous  field-servants. 

Until  I  shall  come  to  my  lord,  to  Seir.  From  this  point,  so  far  east  of  the  Jordan,  he  would 
naturally  proceed  by  the  nearest  route  on  the  east  side  of  the  Dead  Sea,  if  he  interded  to 
return  to  Beer-shcba,  which  he  left  twenty  years  before  (ch.  23  :  10). 

V.  17.     Removed;  compare  the  remark  on  ch.  12  :  0. 

A  ltouse ;  more  durable  than  the  frail  movable  tent,  and  a  better  protection  against  storma 
and  variations  of  heat  and  cold. 

Booths,  "  of  green  boughs  and  branches  interwoven,  as  a  shelter  from  the  sun."  Succoth; 
meaning,  booths. 

The  position  of  Succoth  is  not  satisfactorily  determined,  and  therefore  the  rout'1  by  which 
Jacob  came  to  Shechem  (v.  IS)  is  uncertain.  Tlicic  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  he  deceived 
his  brother  in  regard  to  the  route  he  intended  to  take.  He  remained  at  Succoth  for  a  considera- 
ble time,  as  is  evident  from  v.  17,  and  after  an  interval  of  unknown  length  (v.  1  )  resumed  his 
course  westward.  In  the  mean  time  he  may  have  changed  his  purpose,  if  he  at  first  imended 
to  pass  east  of  the  Dead  Sea  to  southern  Palestine. 

V.  18  (margin).  To  Shalem,  a  city  of  Shechem.  So  the  passage  is  understood  by  some,  but 
on  insufficient  ground-;.* 

V.  19.  The  part  of  the  field  (that  portion  of  the  open  field,  outside  of  the  inclosed  city)  on 
which  he  stretched  his  tent.     Compare  Josh.  24  :  32,  and  John  4  :  5. 

*  See  the  article  Shalem,  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary. 

139 


Chap,  xxxiv.  GENESIS. 


hand  of  the  sons  of  Ilamor,  father  of  Shechem,  for  a  hun- 
20  dred  kesitas.     And  he  erected  there  an  altar,  and  called  it 
El-Elohe-Israel. 

1  And  Dinah  the  daughter  of  Leah,  whom  she  bore  to 
Jacob,  went  out  to  see  the  daughters  of  the  land. 

2  And  Shechem,  son  of  Hamor  the  Hivite,  a  prince  of  the 
land,    saw   her  ;  and  he   took   her,  and  lay  with  her,  and 

3  humbled  her.  And  his  soul  cleaved  to  Dinah  the  daughter 
of  Jacob,  and  he  loved  the  damsel,  and  he  spoke  kindly  to 

1  the  damsel.  And  Shechem  spoke  to  Hamor  his  father, 
saying  :  Take  for  me  this  damsel  for  a  wife. 

5  And  Jacob  heard  that  he  had  denied  Dinah  his  daughter. 
And  his  sons  were  with  his  cattle  in  the  field  ;  and  Jacob 
held  his  peace  until  their  coming. 

6  And  Hamor,  father  of  Shechem,  went  out  to  Jacob  to 
speak  with  him. 

7  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came  from  the  field,  when  they 
heard  it.  And  the  men  were  grieved,  and  they  were  very 
angry,  because  he   committed  folly  in  Israel  in  lying  with 

Akesita  (pronounced  keseeta)  was  a  certain  weight  of  gold  or  silver,*  current  as  money  in 
the  patriarchal  age.  See  Job  42  :  11.  Its  relative  worth,  in  comparison  with  other  representa- 
tives of  value,  is  uncertain.  The  suppositim,  drawn  from  a  comparison  of  this  passage  with 
ch.  23  :  1G,  that  ;t  was  four  times  the  value  of  the  shekel,  rests  on  very  uncertain  data. 

V.  20.    El- Elohe- Israel;  meaning,  God,  the  God  of  Israel. 

Ch.  34.  The  wrong  done  to  Dinah,  Jacob's  daughter,  and  the  vengeance  taken  by  her 
brothers. 

V.  1.  It  is  inferred,  from  a  comparison  of  all  the  circumstances,  that  Dinah  was  at  this  time 
from  thirteen  to  fifteen  years  of  age.f 

V.  2.  Humbled.  Doubtless,  a  constrained  compliance  is  meant  here,  though  it  is  not  neces- 
sarily implied  in  the  use  of  the  word.  Compare  Deut.  21  :  14,  22  :  24,  29 ;  Judges  19  :  24 ;  2  Sam. 
13  :  VI,  English  version,  forced  (as  in  vv.  14,  22),  margin,  humbled;  Lam.  5  :  11,  English  ver- 
sion, ravished. 

The  Hivite ;  see  the  remarks  on  ch.  10  :  15-20,  fourth  paragraph. 

Prince  ;  the  head,  or  chief,  of  a  tribe  (Num.  7  :  2)  or  family  (Num.  3  :  24,  English  version, 
"chief").     See  the  note  on  v.  19. 

V.  7.  Folly.  What  is  impious,  immoral,  contrary  to  the  divine  will  and  to  the  requirements 
of  man's  spiritual  nature,  the  Bible  calls  folly ;  while  piety,  obedience  to  God's  commands  and 
to  his  will  expressed  in  the  laws  of  our  nature,  are  accounted  the  true  wisdom.  The  profound 
moral  truth  of  this  biblical  conception  should  not  be  lost  by  substituting  for  it,  as  is  sometimes 
done,  the  more  general  expression,  impiety,  wickedness,  or  shame,  in  which  the  specific  and 
profoundly  truthful  thought  of  the  sacred  writer  is  left  out  of  view.  Compare  Psalm  14:1; 
Job  1  : 22  ;  Judges  20  :  G. 

*  Or,  not  improbably,  a  coin ;  see  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Money,  3,  second  paragraph. 
t  In  Eastern  countries,  females  are  marriageable  at  twelve  (and  sometimes  ten)  years  of  age. 

140 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxxiv. 


the  daughter  of  Jacob  ;  and  such   a  thing  should   not  be 
done. 

8  And    Hamor    talked   with    them,   saying :  The    soul    of 
Shechem   my   son   longs   for   your   daughter.     I  pray  you, 

9  give  her  to  him  for  a  wife.  And  make  marriages  with 
us  ;  give  your  daughters  to  us,  and  take  our  daughters  for 

10  yo.u.  And  ye  shall  dwell  with  us,  and  the  land  shall  be 
before  }*ou  ;  dwell,  and  traffic  therein,  and  get  possessions 
therein. 

11  And  Shechem  said  to  her  father  and  to  her  brothers  : 
Let  me  find  favor  in  your  eyes,  and  what  ye  shall  say  to 

12  me  I  will  give.  Lay  upon  me  ever  so  much  purchase- 
money  and  gift,  and  I  will  give  as  ye  shall  say  to  me ; 
and  give  me  the  damsel  for  a  wife. 

13  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  answered  Shechem  and  Hamor 
his  father  with  deceit.     And  they  spoke,  because  he  defiled 

14  Dinah  their  sister,  and  said  to  them  :  We  can  not  do  this 
thing,  to  give  our  sister  to  one  that  is  uncircumcisecl  ;  for 

15  that  is  a  reproach  to  us.  Only  on  this  condition  will  we 
consent  to  you  ;  if  ye  will  be  as  we  are,  that  every  male 

16  of  you  be  circumcised,  then  will  we  give  our  daughters  to 

V.  7.     Or,  is  not  done  V.  10.     Or,  dwell,  and  traverse  it 

Margin,  Is  not  done;  is  altogether  unknown  in  Israel. 

V.  8.  Your  daughter,  be  says,  addressing  them  all,  though  she  held  that  particular  relation 
to  only  one  of  them,  and  was  otherwise  related  to  the  rest.  She  is  designated  (as  remarked  by 
Knobel)  by  her  relation  to  her  father,  but  with  reference  also  to  the  others. 

V.  10.  Shallbe  before  you  (as  in  ch.  20  :  15,  "  my  land  is  before  thee,  dwell  where  it  is  good 
in  thine  eyes"'),  to  choose  for  yourselves  where  ye  will  dwell. 

V.  12.  The  custom  of  the  age  required  (as  in  the  case  of  Jacob,  ch.  2!)  :  13-20  and  27)  that 
a  price  in  money,  or  an  equivalent  in  service,  should  be  paid  to  the  father  ia  return  for  his 
daughter  in  marriage.    See  Ex.  22  :  17  ;  1  Sam.  13  :  25.* 

And  gift;  for  the  bride  herself. 

V.  13.  Sons  of  Jacob.  Simeon  and  Levi,  brothers  of  Dinah  by  the  same  mother,  are  speci- 
ally meant. f    Compare  v.  25,  and  the  remarks  on  ch.  24  :  67,  second  paragraph,  foot-note. 

V.  14.  A  reproach  to  us ;  such  an  act  being  a  shame  and  a  reproach,  as  violating  the  divine 
covenant,  and  the  fundamental  law  of  their  own  nationality  (ch.  17  :  9-14). 

*  In  Ex.  22  :  16,  17,  the  last  clause  of  tlic  former  verse  should  be  rendered,  "he  shall  surely 
purchase  her  for  his  wife,"  and  in  the  latter,  "  lie  shall  weigh  out  silver  according  to  the  pur- 
chase-money of  virgins."  In  1  Sam.  IS  :  25,  "dowry"'  (in  the  English  version)  should  bo 
purchase-money .  A  different  view  is  taken  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Marriage,  III.,  but 
is  not  well  sustained. 

t  The  milder  spirit  of  Keuben  (ch.  37  :  21,  22)  may  account  for  his  not  being  named  in  this 
connection. 

141 


Chap,  xxxiv.  GENESIS. 


you,  and  take  your  daughters  for  us,  and  will  dwell  with 

17  you,  and  be  one  people.  But  if  ye  will  not  hearken  to  us, 
to  be  circumcised,  then  will  we  take  our  daughter,  and  go: 

18  And  their  words  were  good  in  the  sight  of  Hamor,  and 

19  in  the  sight  of  Shechem,  Hamor's  son.  And  the  young 
man  delayed  not  to  do  the  thing,  because  he  delighted  in 
the  daughter  of  Jacob.  And  he  was  honored  above  all 
his  father's  house. 

20  And  Hamor,  and  Shechem  his  son,  came  to  the  gate  of 
their  city ;  and  they  spoke  to  the  men  of  their  city,  saying : 

21  These  men  are  peaceable  with  us,  and  will  dwell  in  the 
land,  and  traffic  therein  ;  and  the  land,  behold,  it  is  broad 
on  both  hands  before  them  ;  let  usx  take  their  daughters  to 

22  us  for  wives,  and  give  our  daughters  to  them.  Only  on 
this  condition  will  the  men  consent  to  dwell  with  us,  to  be 
one  people,  that  every  male  among  us  be  circumcised,  as 

23  they  are  circumcised.  Their  cattle,  and  their  substance, 
and  every  beast  of  theirs,  will  they  not  be  ours  ?  Only 
let  us  consent  to  them,  and  they  will  dwell  with  us. 

24  And  they  hearkened  to  Hamor  and  to  Shechem  his  son, 
all  they  that  went  out  of  the  gate  of  his  city  ;  and  they 
were  circumcised,  every  male,  all  that  went  out  of  the  gate 
of  his  city. 


V.  19.  His  father's  house.  A  tribe  was  divided  into  families,  and  each  family  into  households 
{fathers'  hoaxes,  or  ancestral  houses) ;  see  Ex.  6  :  14,  15.  Over  these  households  were  heads, 
as  they  are  termed  in  Ex.  6  :  14,  or  chiefs  as  termed  in  1  Chron.  29  :  6,  or  princes  as  in  2  Chron. 
6  :  2  (English  version  "  chief,"  properly  princes),  compare  v.  2  of  this  chapter. 

Honored  above  all  his  father's  house ;  accounting  for  the  favorable  reception  of  the  proposal 
by  his  father,  and  by  the  people  of  the  city. 

V.  20.  Gate  of  their  city ;  referring  to  the  broad  open  space  at  the  city  gate,  alluded  to  io 
Job  29  :  7, 

"  When  I  went  forth  to  the  gate  by  the  city, 
And  placed  my  seat  by  the  broad  way." 

This  was  a  place  of  public  resort,  where  justice  was  administered,  and  other  public  business 
transacted.  See  the  references  in  the  writer's  note  on  Job  5  :  4  (Book  of  Job,  Part  Second, 
explanatory  notes). 

Their  city.    See  the  remark  on  v.  24,  second  paragraph. 

V.  21.     On  both  liands,  right  and  left ;— there  is  room  enough  for  them. 

V.  24.  All  they  that  went  out  of  the  gate  of  his  city.  This,  like  the  corresponding  phrase,  "  all 
that  enter  in  at  the  gate  bf  his  city,"  in  ch.  23  :  10,  means  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town.  Bat 
in  both  passages,  the  phrase  is  chosen  with  reference  to  the  manner  of  consulting  them,  namely, 
as  they  passed  out  or  in  through  the  gate. 

His  city,  as  being  his  place  of  residence,  and  not  because  he  was  its  magistrate  or  chief 
(ch.  23  :  10). 

142 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxxiv. 


25  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  third  day,  when  they  were 
sore,  that  two  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  Simeon  and  Levi, 
Dinah's  brothers,  took  each  one  his  sword,  and  came  upon 

26  the  city  boldly,  and  slew  every  male.  And  Ilamor  and 
Shechem  his  son  they  slew  with  the  edge  of  the  sword ; 
and  they  took  Dinah  from  the  house  of  Shechem,  and  went 
forth. 

27  The  sons  of  Jacob  came  upon  the  slain,  and  plundered 

28  the  city,  because  they  defiled  their  sister.  They  took  their 
flocks,  and   their  herds,    and   their  asses,   and   that  which 

29  was  in  the  city,  and  that  which  was  in  the  field.  And 
all  their  wealth,  and  all  their  little  ones,  and  their  wives, 
they  took  captive  and  plundered,  and  all  that  was  in  the 
house. 

30  And  Jacob  said  to  Simeon  and  to  Levi  :  Ye  have  troub- 
led me,  to  make  me  a  stench  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land,  among  the  Canaanites  and  among  the  Perizzites.  And 
I  am  few  in  number,  and  they  will  collect  together  against 
me,  and  smite  me  ;  and  I  shall  be  destroyed,  I  and  my 
house. 

31  And  they  said  :  Should  he  deal  with  our  sister  as  with 
a  harlot  ? 

V.  25.  On  the  third  day ;  the  critical  day,  when  the  inflammation  and  fever  were  at  their 
height.* 

Simeon  and  Levi.  Compare  the  comment  on  this  bloody  revenge,  in  ch.  il  :  5-7.  Reuben, 
also  a  brother  of  Dinah  by  the  same  mother,  seems  to  have  taken  no  part  in  it.  Compare  tho 
remark  on  v.  13,  foot-note.  Only  the  leaders,  Simeon  and  Levi,  are  mentioned ;  but  their  armed 
followers  of  course  are  included. 

Came  upon  the  city  boldly ;  having  nothing  to  fear,  in  the  disabled  condition  of  its  inhab- 
itants. 

V.  2G.  Went  forth;  satisfied  with  their  revenge,  and  taking  no  part,  apparently,  in  the  sub- 
sequent plundering  of  the  place. 

V.  29.     In  the  house ;  in  distinction  from  "  in  the  field,"  v.  28.    They  plundered  every  house. 

V.  30.  Among  the  Canaanites  and  among  the  Perizzites.  Compare  a  similar  allusion,  in 
oh.  13  :  7,  to  the  perils  apprehended  from  these  prior  occupants  of  the  country. 

V.  31.  The  provocation,  it  must  be  conceded,  was  great,  and  such  as  has  often  been  avenged 
with  equal  severity,  in  the  world's  history.  To  us,  in  our  social  relations,  the  reparation  for 
the  wrong  proposed  by  Shechem  seems  the  most  honorable  and  desirable  adjustment,  and  best 
for  the  injured  parties.  But  it  was  not  so  regarded  among  people  of  the  East ;  and  passion 
ruled  on  both  sides. 

*  "This  operation,  as  is  well  known,  is  no  light  matter.  If  not  performed  skillfully  and 
with  care,  the  loss  of  blood  and  the  inflammation  may  prove  fatal.  Crown  persons,  after 
submitting  to  it,  must  lie  in  bed  and  keep  quiet  for  three  days;  and  often  the  healing  is  not 
effected  till  after  thirty-five  or  forty  days."— Belitzsch,  CommerUar  ubcr  die  Genesis,  3te  Ausg., 
p.  495. 

H3 


Chap.  xxxv.  GENESIS. 


1  And  God  said  to  Jacob  :  Arise,  go  up  to  Beth-el,  and 
dwell  there.  And  make  there  an  altar  to  God,  who  ap- 
peared to  thee  when  thou  wast  fleeing  from  the  face  of 
Esau  thy  brother. 

2  And  Jacob  said  to  his  household,  and  to  all  that  were 
with  him  :  Put  away  the  strange  gods  that  are  among  you, 

3  and  cleanse  yourselves,  and  change  your  garments.  And 
let  us  arise  and  go  up  to  Beth-el ;  and  I  will  make  there  an 
altar  to  God,  who  answered  me  in  the  day  of  my  distress, 
and  was  with  me  in  the  way  which  I  went. 

4  And  they  gave  to  Jacob  all  the  strange  gods  which  were 
in  their  hand,  and  the  rings  which  were  in  their  ears ;  and 
Jacob  hid  them  under  the  oak  which  is  by  Shechem. 

5  And  they  removed  ;  and  the  terror  of  God  was  upon  the 
cities  that  were .  around  them,  and  they  did  not  pursue 
after  the  sons  of  Jacob. 

6  And  Jacob  came  to  Luz  which  is  in  the  land  of  Canaan 
(that  is  Beth-el),  he  and  all  the  people  that  were  with  him. 

Ch.  35.    Jacob  is  directed  to  go  to  Beth-el,  and  dwell  there.    Death  of  Rachel,  and  of  Isaac. 

This  chapter  records  a  new  era  of  spiritual  progress  in  the  family  of  Jacob.  Hitherto  the 
divine  favor  has  been  shown  in  his  worldly  prosperity,  accompanied  with  the  promise  of  future 
blessings  to  the  world  through  him  and  his  race,  and  in  the  numerous  and  severe  trials  by 
which  his  character  was  tested,  corrected,  and  strengthened,  to  prepare  him  for  his  mission. 

He  is  now  directed,  in  fulfillment  of  his  vow  (ch.  28  :  20-22),  to  build  an  altar  to  God  in  Beth-el 
and  dwell  there,  making  it  "a  house  of  God,"  as  he  had  promised.*  He  therefore  commands 
all  who  are  in  his  household  and  service  to  put  away  their  strange  gods  (Ex.  20  :  3),  and  after 
making  the  preparation  of  heart  and  life  represented  by  outward  cleansing  and  change  of  gar- 
ments, to  go  with  clean  hearts  and  hands  to  the  services  of  the  sanctuary. 

V.  2.  His  household;  his  own  family,  and  household  servants.  All  that  were  with  him;  those 
who  had  charge  of  his  flocks  and  herds,  and  their  families. 

Strange  gods.  Rachel  brought  with  her  from  Padan-aram  the  teraphim  that  belonged  to  her 
father  (ch.  31  :  19,  31).  Those  in  Jacob's  service,  who  came  with  him  from  that  country,  might 
Btill  retain  the  false  views  and  practices  which  prevailed  there,  even  among  the  descendants  of 
Nahor.    See  the  remarks  on  ch.  31  :  19,  and  v.  53,  foot-note. 

Cleanse  yoursdoes,  and  change  your  garments;  as  a  preparation  for  the  sacred  services. 
Compare  Ex.  19.:  10,  29  :  4.  It  would  be  understood,  of  course,  that  to  Him  who  "  look-*  on  the 
heart"  (1  Sam.  1G  :  7)  the  outward  change  is  only  an  emblem  of  the  change  in  the  inward  life. 

V.  3.  Who  answered  me  in  the  day  of  my  distress  ;  thus  binding  me  to  the  fulfillment  of  my 
vowfeh.  23  :  20-22). 

V.  4.    Rings  which  were  in  their  ears.    Such  arc  meant  as  were  worn,  not  for  ornament,  but 
as  charms,  or  amulets,  to  guard  against  evil  influences.     Such  superstitions,  inconsistent  as 
they  are  with  the  spirit  of  true  piety,  have  often  prevailed  even  among  Christian  people. 
Under  the  oak.    Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  12  :  C,  7,  second  paragraph,  foot-note. 

V.  G.     That  is  Beth-d.  Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  14  :  2,  the  second  paragraph.    The  explan- 

*  As  such  it  was  long  regarded,  and  resorted  to.   Compare  Judges  20  :  18,  2G,  and  1  Sam.  10 :  3. 

144 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxxy. 


7  And  he  built  there  an  altar  ;  and  he  called  the  place  El- 
beth-el,  because  there  God  appeared  to  him  when  he  was 
fleeing  from  the  face  of  his  brother. 

8  And  Deborah,  Rebekah's  nurse,  died  ;  and  she  was  buried 
below  Beth-el  under  the  oak,  and  the  name  of  it  was  called 
Oak  of  Weeping. 

9  And  God  appeared  to  Jacob  again,  when  he  came  from 

10  Padan-aram,  and  blessed  him.  And  God  said  to  him  : 
Thy  name  is  Jacob.  Thy  name  shall  no  more  be  called 
Jacob,  but  Israel  shall  be  thy  name.  And  he  called  his 
name  Israel. 

11  And  God  said  to  him :  I  am  God  Almighty.  Be  fruitful 
and  multiply ;  a  nation,  and  an  assemblage  of  nations,  shall 

12  be  from  thee,  and  kings  shall  come  out  of  thy  loins.  And 
the  land  which  I  gave  to  Abraham  and  to  Isaac,  to  thee 
will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee  will  I  give  the 
land. 

13  And  God  went  up  from  him  in  the  place  where  he  spoke 

14  with  him.     And  Jacob  set  up  a  pillar  in  the  place  where 

V.  8.     Or,  and  he  called  the  name  of  it 

atory  remark  added  here,  "  which  is  in  the  land  of  Canaan,"  and  in  v.  9,  "  when  he  came  from 
Padan-aram,"  point  to  the  same  thing. 

V.  7.  El-beth-el ;  meaning,  God  of  Beth-el,  in  allusion  to  God  who  appeared  to  him  there- 
(ch.  28  :  16-19). 

V.  8.  It  is  inferred,  from  what  is  here  related,  that  Rebekah  was  no  longer  living,  and  that 
her  aged  nurse  was  now  the  care  of  the  son,  to  whom  she  ministered  in  infancy  and  cluldhood. 

Below  B  lh-f.l,  which  was  situated  on  a  hill.  The  oak;  with  the  definite  article,  as  a  well- 
known  and  familiar  object.* 

Oak  of  weeping  ;  where  they  wept,  at  her  burial.  The  name,  and  the  occasion  of  it,  are  &. 
beautiful  tribute  to  the  memory  of  an  aged  and  faithful  servant. 

V.  8  (margin).  He  called  the  name  of  it,  as  the  words  may  be  rendered,  expressing  Jicob'a. 
grateful  remembrance  of  her  faithful  service  to  his  mother  and  to  himself. 

VV.  9-15.  God  appears  to  Jacob  in  Beth-el  a  second  time,  and  repeats  the  promises  before? 
made  to  him. 

Again,  when  he  came  from  Padan-aram ;  as  he  had  done  before,  when  Jacob  was  on  his- 
way  thither. 

V.  10.  Israel  shall  be  thy  name.  These  verses  (9-12)  maybe  regarded  as  a  summary  of  the 
divine  communications  made  to  Jacob  on  his  way  back  from  Padan-aram,  including  the  on» 
recorded  in  ch.  32  :  23,  or  it  may  have  been  repeated  on  this  occasion. 

V.  13.  Intheilace.  He  did  not  go  away  to  some  other  place,  as  an  earthly  being  would 
have  done,  but  went  up  from  the  spot  where  he  spoke  with  him. 

VV.  11,  15.    In  commemoration  of  this  event,  Jacob  again  erect3  a  pillar  of  stone^and  offers 

*  "  This  is  probably"  (says  Dean  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Pnlestine,  p.  220)  "  the  same-  oak  as  that 
referred  to  in  1  Sam.  10  :  3,  though  there  translated  '  plain,'  and  in  1  Kings  13  :  14J'     In  the 
latter  passage,  the  Hebrew  word  has  the  definite  article,  "  under  the  oak." 
K  145 


Chap.  xxxv.  GENESIS. 


15 


he  spoke  with  him,  a  pillar  of  stone  ;  and  he  poured  a 
drink-offering  thereon,  and  he  poured  oil  thereon.  And 
Jacob  called  the  name  of  the  place,  where  God  spoke  with 
him,  Beth-el. 

16  And  they  removed  from  Beth-el.  And  there  was  yet  a 
length   of  way   to   come   to    Ephrath,  and   Rachel  was   in 

17  labor  ;  and  she  had  hard  labor.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
when  she  was  in  hard  labor,  that  the  midwife  said  to  her : 

18  Fear  not,  for  this  also  is  a  son  for  thee.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  as  her  soul  was  departing,  (for  she  died,)  that  she 
called  his  name  Ben-oni.  And  his  father  called  him  Ben- 
jamin. 

19  And  Rachel  died  ;   and  she  was  buried  in  the  way  to 

20  Ephrath.  That  is  Bethlehem.  And  Jacob  set  up  a  pillar 
on  her  grave.  That  is  the  pillar  of  RacheFs  grave  to  this 
clay. 

21  And  Israel  removed,  and  stretched  his  tent  beyond  Mig- 

22  dal-eder.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Israel  was  dwelling 
in  that  land,  that  Reuben  went  and  lay  with  Bilhah,  his 
father's  concubine.     And  Jacob  heard  of  it. 

23  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  were  twelve.  The  sons  of  Leah  ; 
Reuben,    Jacob's   first-born,    and    Simeon,    and   Levi,    and 


on  it  a  drink-offering  of  wine,  and  consecrates  it  by  an  anointing  with  oil.     Compare  the  note 
on  ch.  28  :  18. 

Called  the  name  .  .  .  Belh-el;  not  now  for  the  first  time,  for  the  place  already  bore  this 
name  (v.  1,  and  ch.  23  :  19). 

V.  16.  Removed,  for  convenience  of  pasturage  (ch.  12  :  9).  A  temporary  change  of  abode, 
for  such  a  purpose,  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  direction  given  in  v.  1. 

Ephrath;  afterward  called  Bethlehem  (v.  19).  It  means  fruitful,  corresponding  to  Bethlehem, 
which  means  house  of  bread. 

V.  17.  This  also  is  a  son  for  thee.  She  encourages  her  with  the  assurance  that  this  also,  as 
well  as  the  first-born,  is  a  son.  The  birth  of  a  son  was  a  blessing  specially  desired.  Compare 
ch.  29  :  32  and  note,  and  ch.  30  :  24. 

V.  18.    Ben-oni ;  meaning,  son  of  my  anguish.    Benjamin ;  son  of  the  right  hand. 

V.  20.    BacheVs  grave.    Compare  1  Sam.  10  :  2. 

V.  21.  Migdal-eder ;  meaning,  tower  of  the  flock  (Micah  4:8),  a  watchtower  built  for  the 
nse  of  herdsmen  in  watching  and  guarding  their  flocks.  Compare  2  Chron.  20  :  10.  The  con- 
nection shows  that  it  was  not  far  from  Bethlehem,  but  its  position  is  not  otherwise  known. 
The  expression  in  Micah  4  :  8,  "  0  tower  of  the  flock,"  is  probably  an  allusion  to  this  passage. 

V.  22.    Compare  ch.  49  :  4. 

W.  23-2G.  Sons  of  Jacob.  He  is  now  approaching  the  paternal  home.  He  went  forth  from 
it  with  only  his  staff  (ch.  32  :  10),  and  now  returns  to  it  the  father  of  twelve  sons.  As  the  object 
is  to  show  how  greatly  he  had  been  blessed  in  the  exile  from  his  home,  the  births  of  all  are 
naturally  included  in  one  general  statement  (v.  26,  last  clause),  without  minute  specification 
which  the  context  readily  supplies. 

146 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxxvt. 


24  Judah,  and  Issachar,  and  Zebulun.      The   sons  of  Rachel ; 

25  Joseph  and  Benjamin.     And  the   sons  of  Bilhah,  Rachel's 

26  maid-servant ;  Dan,  and  Naphtali.  And  the  sons  of  Zilpah, 
Leah's  maid-servant ;  Gad,  and  Asher.  These  are  the  sons 
of  Jacob,  that  were  born  to  him  in  Paclan-aram. 

27  And  Jacob  came  to  Isaac  his  father,  to  Mamre,  to  Kir- 
jath-arba,  (that  is  Hebron,)  where  Abraham  and  Isaac 
sojourned. 

28  And  the  days  of  Isaac  were  a  hundred  and  eighty  years. 

29  And  Isaac  expired,  and  died,  and  was  gathered  to  his 
people,  old  and  full  of  clays.  And  Esau  and  Jacob,  his 
sons,  buried  him. 


1  And  these  are  the  generations  of  Esau.     He  is  Edom. 

2  Esau  took  his  wives  of  the  daughters  of  Canaan,  Adah 
the    daughter    of  Elon   the    Hittite,    and   Aholibamah   the 

3  daughter  of  Anah  the  daughter  of  Zibeon  the  Hivite,  and 


V.  27.  Mamre.  Compare  ch.  13  :  18,  and  23  :  19.  Eirjath-arba.  See  cli.  23  :  2,  and  note. 
It  is  not  meant  that  Jacob  now  saw  his  father  for  the  first  time  after  his  return  to  Canaan  ;  but 
that  be  now  removed,  with  all  his  family,  and  his  flocks  and  herds,  and  bis  whole  retinue  of 
herdsmen  and  other  servants,  to  the  vicinity  of  his  father's  abode. 

V.  29.     Was  gathered  to  his  people.    See  the  remarks  on  ch.  25  :  8,  second  paragraph. 

Full  of  days.    Compare  ch.  2.5  :  8,  note,  first  paragraph. 

The  date  of  Isaac's  death  is  here  anticipated  in  the  narrative,  for  he  lived  some  years  after 
Joseph  was  sold  into  Egypt  (ch.  37).* 

The  sacred  writer  closes  the  account  of  Isaac  and  of  Esau  with  this  chapter  and  the  following 
one,  reserving  the  remainder  of  the  book  for  the  fortunes  of  Jacob  and  his  family. 

Ch.  33.    Descendants  of  Esau. 

Here  is  interposed  a  brief  account  of  Esau's  descendants,  giving  such  information  as  is  neces- 
sary for  understanding  subsequent  allusions  to  them. 

The  chapter  consists  of  seven  divisions.    First  division,  vv.  1 — 8.     Origin  of  the  Edomites. 

V.  1.  Generations.  Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  2  :  4,  second  paragraph.  Edom  ;  see  the 
note  on  ch.  32  :  1-3,  third  paragraph. 

VV.  2,  3.  Took  his  wives  ;  that  is,  took  them  with  him  when  he  departed  to  another  land  (v. 
6).  The  sentence  commencing  here  is  continued  on  to  the  sixth  verse,  and  this  clause  is 
resumed  in  the  first  clause  of  that  verse. 

Of  the  daughters  of  Canaan.  Compare  ch.  26  :  31 ,  27  :  4G,  28  :  8.  This  refers  only  to  the  first 
two,  from  whom  Cashemath  is  expressly.distinguished  as  "  Ishmael's  daughter." 

The  superscription  in  the  first  verse,  "  These  are  the  generations  of  Esau,"  indicates  that 
this  is  an  ancient  record  of  the  family  of  Esau.  In  the  names  of  his  wives,  in  these  two  verses, 
it  varies  from  the  account  already  given  in  chs.  26  :  34  and  28  :  9.  It  should  be  observed,  how- 
ever, that  the  accounts  agree  in  the  most  important  points ;  namely,  first  in  the  number  of  his 
wives,  each  making  it  three;  secondly,  in  the  fact  that  two  of  them  were  Canaanites,  one  of 
these  being  a  Hittite  ;  and  thirdly,  that  the  other  was  a  daughter  of  Ishmael,  and  sister  of  Nebaioth. 

*  Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  27  :  1-4,  foot-note.  It  appears,  from  a  comparison  of  the  dates 
there  given,  that  Joseph  was  twenty-nine  years  of  age  when  Isaac  died.  As  Joseph  was  sold 
into  Egypt  at  the  age  of  seventeen  (ch.  37  :  2),  Isaac  must  have  lived  twelve  or  thirteen  yeara 
after  that  event. 

147 


Chap,  xxxyi.  GENESIS. 


4  Bashemath,  Ishmael's  daughter,  sister  of  Nebaioth  ; — and 
f    Adah  bore   to   Esau  Eliphaz,  and  Bashemath  bore  Reuel, 

5  and   Aholibamah    bore    Jeush,    and    Jaalam,  and   Korah  j 
these  are  the  sons  of  Esau,  that  were  born  to  him  in  the 

As  the  three  statements  agree  in  these  striking  and  essential  points,  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  the  same  persons  are  meant  in  all  of  them.*  The  mere  difference  of  names  would  be  of 
little  account,  since  they  were  significant  of  personal  qualities  and  traits  of  character,  or  of 
incidents  in  personal  history,  and  hence  not  unfrequently  changed  as  new  circumstances  occurred. 
The  most  remarkable  of  these  changes,  and  apparently  the  most  difficult  one,  is  satisfactorily 
explained;  as  all  might  be,  without  doubt,  if  we  had,  as  in  this  case,  the  historical  links  of 
connection  which  led  to  them,  but  which  are  naturally  omitted  in  a  document  not  intended  for 
purposes  of  explanation  and  conciliation,  and  necessarily  very  brief. 

It  has  been  suggested,  with  great  appearance  of  probability,!  that  the  Ana  mentioned  in  v.  2 
is  the  one  spoken  of  in  v.  24  as  the  discoverer  of  "  the  warm  springs  in  the  wilderness ;"  and 
that  from  this  circumstance  he  was  afterward  known  by  the  name  Beeri,  meaning  "a  man  of 
wells,"  a  discoverer  of  them.  In  this  genealogical  record  he  would  naturally  be  mentioned  by 
his  original  name,  while  in  the  historical  account  (eh.  2G  :  34)  he  would  be  more  readily  known 
by  the  one  which  superseded  it.  He  might  be  a  HUtite,  as  he  is  called  in  ch.  2G  :  34,  and  yet 
be  properly  classed  here  (vv.  20,  24)  with  the  Horites  ;  for  the  latter  is  not  agentilic  name,  but 
a  designation  derived  from  a  certain  mode  of  life.J  Zibeon,  his  father,  is  here  called  a  Hivile,§ 
whilst  Beeri,  in  ch.  26  :  34,  is  called  a  HUtite  ;  perhaps  on  the  ground  that  the  latter  was  a  gen- 
eral designation  of  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan,  as  in  Joshua  1  :  4.|| 

Aholibamah  ;  meaning,  tent  of  the  height.  She  is  called  Judith  in  ch.  26  :  34,  and  this  was 
doubtless  her  proper  personal  name.  The  name  Aholibamah,  as  its  meaning  indicates,  seems 
to  have  been  given  her  from  historical  circumstances  connected  with  her  relation  as  wife  of 
Esau, IT  and  hence  would  natural^  be  used  here,  in  a  purely  Edomitish  document. 

Daughter  of  Zibeon.  The  word  "  daughter"  is  here  used  in  the  wider  sense  which  it  often 
bears.  She  was  the  granddaughter  of  Zibeon,  as  is  shown  in  vv.  24,  25.  So  the  term  son  is 
sometimes  applied  to  a  grandson,  or  even  a  remoter  lineal  descendant. 

The  daughter  of  Elon,  the  second  of  Esau's  wives,  is  called  Bashemath  (fragrant)  in  ch.  26  :  34, 
and  Adah  (ornament)  in  this  passage.  On  the  contrary,  the  third  wife  of  Esau  is  called 
Mahalath  (a  stringed  instrument  of  music,  a  lute)  in  ch.  28  :  9,  and  is  here  called  Bashemath.** 
Of  this  change  of  names,  and  their  still  more  remarkable  interchange,  the  brief  record  has 
preserved  no  explanation. ft 

*  The  difference  of  names  has  been  explained  on  the  supposition  that  in  the  long  interval  of 
time,  about  forty  years,  the  one  first  named  in  the  previous  account  had  died  without  issue,  and 
that  another  wife  by  a  subsequent  marriage  is  mentioned  here.  The  supposition  is  not  im- 
probable in  itself,  and  may  be  the  true  explanation.  It  is  idle  to  pretend  that  there  is  a  dis- 
crepancy between  these  accounts,  when  they  can  be  reconciled  on  suppositions  that  are  perfectly 
reasonable,  and  could  doubtless  be  proved  to  be  true  if  we  had  the  connecting  links  neces- 
sarily omitted  in  so  brief  a  statement. 

f  Eengslenberg ,  Beitrdge  zur  Einleitung  ins  A.  T.,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  273. 
'  £  "  Each  of  the  accounts  gives  us  just  the  information  we  might  expect  [from  it].  In  the  nar- 
rative, where  the  stress  is  laid  on  Esau's  wife  being  of  the  race  of  Canaan,  her  father  is  called  a 
Hittite  ;  whilst  in  the  genealogy,  where  the  stress  is  on  Esau's  connection  by  marriage  with  the 
previous  occupants  of  Mount  Seir,  he  is  most  naturally  and  properly  described  under  the  more 
precise  term  Horite." — Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Beeri. 

§  It  has  been  suggested  that  this  may  be  an  error  of  transcription  ;  the  difference  between 
the  Hebrew  words  for  Horite  and  Jlivile  being  only  the  difference  between  the  letter  "I  and  the 
letter  1,  which  are  less  distinguishable  in  manuscript  than  in  their  more  exact  printed  forms. 

II  Eengstenberg,  Beitrdge  ins  A.  T.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  275. 

IT  Compare  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Aholibamah. 

**  The  Samaritan  copy  of  the  Hebrew  text,  and  the  Samaritan  version  of  it,  retain  the  name 
Mahalath.  But  in  such  a  case,  there  is  ground  to  suspect  an  attempt  at  conciliation,  to  avoid  an 
obvious  difficulty. 

ft  Compare  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Bashemath. 

148 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxxvi. 


6  land  of  Canaan  ; — and  Esau  took  his  wives,  and  his  sons, 
and  his  daughters,  and  all  the  persons  of  his  house,  and 
his  cattle,  and  all  his  beasts,  and  all  his  substance  that  he 
gathered  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  went  to  a  land  away 

7  from  his  brother  Jacob.  For  their  substance  was  great,  so 
that  they  could  not  dwell  together  ;  and  the  land  of  their 
sojournings  could  not  bear  them  on  account  of  their  cattle. 

8  And  Esau  dwelt  in  mount  Seir.     Esau,  he  is  Edom. 

9  And  these  are  the  generations  of  Esau,  father  of  Edom 
in  mount  Seir. 

10  These  are  the  names  of  Esau's  sons  ;  Eliphaz,  son  of 
Adah  the  wife  of  Esau,  Reuel,  son  of  Bashemath  the  wife 
of  Esau. 

11  And  the  sons  of  Eliphaz  were  Teman,  Omar,  Zepho,  and 

12  Gatam,  and  Kenaz.  And  Timna  was  concubine  to  Eliphaz, 
Esau's  son  ;  and  she  bore  to  Eliphaz  Amalek.  These  were 
the  sons  of  Adah,  Esau's  wife. 

13  And  these  are  the  sons  of  Reuel  ;  Nahath  and  Zerah, 
Shammah  and  Mizzah.  These  were  the  sons  of  Bashemath, 
Esau's  wife. 


W.  0,  7.  And  Esau  look  his  icioes.  The  first  clause  in  v.  2  is  resumed  here,  and  the  sen- 
tence commenced  there  is  completed  in  this  verse. 

Went  to  a  land  away  from  las  brother  Jacob.  In  dismissing  Jacob  with  his  final  blessing, 
Isaac  added  the  significant  words  (ch.  28:4),  "  that  thou  mayest  possess  the  land  .  .  . 
which  God  gave  to  Abraham."  Esau  was  doubtless  aware  that  he  could  not  have  his  father's 
countenance  in  resisting  the  claim  of  Jacob  and  his  posterity  to  the  possession  of  the  country. 
He  therefore  took  all  that  he  had,  and  retired  to  another  land,  "  away  from  his  brother  Jacob." 

This  occurred  during  Jacob's  absence  in  Padan-aram,*  and  was  a  precautionary  measure 
which  the  prudence  of  Isaac  would  naturally  suggest,  and  one  which  the  interests  of  both 
parties  required. 

It  will  be  observed,  that  no  cause  of  separation  is  mentioned,  except  (as  in  the  case  of  Abra- 
ham and  Lot,  ch.  13  :  G)  that  "the  land  could  not  bear  them,  on  account  of  their  cattle.''  The 
omission  is  perhaps  explained  by  the  fact  alluded  to  in  the  remarks  on  vv.  2,  3,  third  para- 
graph.    In  such  a  record  nothing  more  could  be  expected. 

V.  8.  Mount  Seir.  See  the  remarks  on  ch.  14  :  G,  and  on  ch.  32  :  1-3,  third  paragraph,  foot- 
note. 

Second  division,  vv.  9-14.    The  three  chief  branches  of  the  Edomites. 

V.  11.     Teman.     See  the  remarks  on  v.  42. 

V.  12.  Timna,  the  Horite  (v.  22)  is  mentioned  here  as  having  borne  Amalek  to  Eliphaz. 
A  remnant  of  his  race,  dwelling  in  mount  Seir,  were  exterminated  in  the  time  of  Hezekiah 
(1  Cliron.  4  :  41-43). 

*  Some  suppose  that  it  occurred  after  his  return,  and  that  this  statement  refers  to  Esau's 
final  and  permanent  abandonment  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  settlement  in  mount  Seir.  But 
the  suppontion  is  unnecessary,  as  shown  by  the  remark  in  the  text,  and  does  not  accord  with 
the  previous  history.     Compare,  for  example,  ch.  32  :  3,  aud  33  :  16. 

149 


Chap,  xxxvi.  GENESIS. 


14  And  these  were  the  sons  of  Aholibamah,  daughter  of 
Anah  the  daughter  of  Zibeon,  Esau's  wife  ;  and  she  bore 
to  Esau  Jeush,  and  Jaalam,  and  Korah. 

15  These  w.ere  princes  of  the  sons  of  Esau  ;  the  sons  of 
Eliphaz  the  first-born  of  Esau,  prince  Teman,  prince  Omar, 

16  prince  Zepho,  prince  Kenaz,  prince  Korah,  prince  Gatam, 
prince  Amalek.  These  were  the  princes  of  Eliphaz,  in  the 
land  of  Edom.     These  were  sons  of  Adah. 

17  And  these  were  sons  of  Reuel,  Esau's  son  ;  prince  Na- 
hatb,  prince  Zerah,  prince  Shammah,  prince  Mizzah.  These 
were  the  princes  of  Reuel,  in  the  land  of  Edom.  These 
were  sons  of  Bashemath,  Esau's  wife. 

18  And  these  were  sons  of  Aholibamah,  Esau's  wife  ;  prince 
Jeush,  prince  Jaalam,  prince  Korah.  These  were  the 
princes  of  Aholibamah,  the  daughter  of  Anah,  Esau's  wife. 

19  These  were  the  sons  of  Esau,  and  these  were  their 
princes.     He  is  Edom. 

20  These  are  the  sons  of  Seir  the  Horite,  the  inhabitants 
of  the   land  ;  Lotan,   and   Shobal,  and  Zibeon,  and   Anah, 

21  and  Dishon,  and  Ezer,  and  Dishan.  These  were  the  princes 
of  the  Horites,  the  sons  of  Seir,  in  the  land  of  Edom. 

22  And  the  sons  of  Lotan  were  Hori  and  Hemam  ;  and  the 
sister  of  Lotan  was  Timna, 

83  And  these  are  the  sons  of  Shobal ;  Alvan  and  Manahath 
and  Ebal,  Shepho  and  Onam. 

24  And  these  are  the  sons  of  Zibeon  ;  both  Ajah  and  Anah. 
He  was  Anah  who  found  the  warm  springs  in  the  wilder- 
ness, as  he  fed  the  asses  of  Zibeon  his  father. 

Third  division,  vv.  15-19.    Princes  descended  from  Esau. 

V.  17.     These  ;  namely,  these  princes  of  Esau's  line,  continuing  the  enumeration  commenced 
in  v.  15,  under  the  heading,  "  these  were  princes  of  the  sons  of  Esau." 

V.  18.     These;  as  in  v.  17. 

Fourth  division,  vv.  20-28.     Descendants  of  Seir,  father  of  the  original  occupants  of  the 
country. 

Seir'a  immediate  descendants  are  given  here,  in  this  record  of  "the  generations  of  Esau" 
(v.  1),  on  account  of  the  intermarriage  of  some  of  them  with  Esau's  descendants. 

V.  20.    Seir  (he  Horite.    See  the  remarks  on  eta.  14  :  G. 

V.  22.     Timna.    She  is  mentioned,  and  her  relation  to  Lotan,  on  account  of  her  connection 
with  Eliphaz,  spoken  of  in  v.  12. 

V.  23.    Of  the  sons  of  Shobal,  the  first  three  are  grouped  together,  as  are  also  the  last  two, 
for  some  reason  which  is  not  now  apparent. 

,    V.  24.     The  warm  springs.    These  are  frequent  in  that  region,  aa  attested  by  ancient  writers 

150 


GENESIS.  Chat,  xxxvl 


25  And  these  are  the  sons  of  Anah  ;  Dishon,  and  Aholiba- 
mah  the  daughter  of  Anah. 

26  And  these  are  the  sons  of  Dishon  ;  Hemdan,  and  Eshban, 
and  Ithran,  and  Cheran. 

27  These   are   the   sons  of  Ezer  ;  Billian,  and  Zaavan,  and 
Akan. 

28  These  are  the  sons  of  Dishan  ;  Uz,  and  Aran. 

29  These  were  princes  of  the  Horites  ;  prince  Lotan,  prince 
80  Shobal,  prince  Zibeon,  prince  Anah.  prince  Dishon,  prince 

Ezer,  prince  Dishan.      These  were  princes  of  the  Horites, 
according  to  their  princes,  in  the  land  of  Seir. 

31  And   these    are   the   kings  that  reigned   in   the  land  of 
Edom,  before  there  reigned  a  king  of  the  sons  of  Israel. 

32  And  there  reigned  in  Edom  Bela,  son  of  Bcor  ;  and  the 
name  of  his  city  was  Dinhaba. 

33  And   Bela   died  ;  and   Jobab   son   of  Zerah,    of  Bozrah 
reigned  in  his  stead. 

34  And    Jobab    died ;    and    Hushani,    of  the    land    of  the 
Temanites,  reigned  in  his  stead. 

35  And   Husham  died  ;  and  Hadad   son   of  Bedad,.  he  who 

and  by  modern  travelers.*  The  value  of  their  sanitary  properties  made  the  discovery  an  im- 
portant one,  and  worthy  to  be  thus  commemorated. 

V.  25.  These  are  the  sons.  This  is  the  standing  formula  in  a  table  of  genealogy,  and  it  u 
therefore  used  here,  though  there  is  but  one  son  to  be  mentioned. 

Aholibamah;  not  the  one  mentioned  in  v.  2,  who  was  daughter  of  Anah  the  son  of  Zibeon 
(v.  24). 

V.  28.     Uz.     Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  22  :  20-24,  fourth  paragraph. 

Fifth  division,  vv.  29,  30.    Princes  of  this  race. 

V.  30.  According  to  their  princes  ;  that  is,  as  their  princes  were  severally  named  in  their 
several  tribes. 

Sixth  division,  vv.  31-39.    Kings  of  Edom. 

V.  31.  Before  ther-e  reigned  a  king  of  the  sons  of  Israel.  This  may  have  been  added  at  a 
later  period,  as  explanatory  remarks  occasionally  were  (ch.  14  :  2,  note,  second  paragraph). 

It  is  remarkable  that  none  of thtse  kings  was  a  son  or  descendant  of  his  predecessor.  The 
government  was,  therefore,  an  elective  monarchy,  existing  cotemporaneously  with  the  nar- 
rower sway  of  the  princes  of  tribes  already  spoken  of,  which  it  probably  represented  in  one 
executive  head. 

V.  33.  Bozrah  was  one  of  the  chief  cities  of  the  Edomites.f  See  Isaiah  34  :  C,  03  :  1 ;  Jer. 
49  :  13,  22;  Amos  1  :  12. 

V.  34.     Land  of  the  Temanites.    See  the  remark  on  v.  42. 

V.  35.  There  is  an  allusion  here  to  some  battle,  not  elsewhere  on  record,  in  which  the  Edom- 
ites  gained  a  victory  over  the  Midianites,  in  the  territory  of  Moab. 

*  Compare  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Mules,  and  the  art.  Anah,  in  the  American  edition. 
•  f  "  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  its  modern  representative  is  el-Busaireh,  which  was  first 
visited  by  Burckhardt,  and  lies  in  the  mountain  district  to  the  southeast  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
between  Tufileh  and  Petra."— Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Bozrah. 

151 


Chap,  xxxvi.  GENESIS. 


smote  Midian  in  the  country  of  Moab,  reigned  in  his  stead. 
And  the  name  of  his  city  was  Avith. 

36  And  Hadad  died ;  and  Samlah,  of  Masrekah,  reigned  in 
his  stead. 

37  And  Samlah  died ;  and  Saul,  of  Rehoboth  by  the  River, 
reigned  in  his  stead. 

38  And  Saul  died  ;  and  Baal-hanan,  son  of  Achbor,  reigned 
in  his  stead. 

39  And  Baal-hanan,  son  of  Achbor,  died  ;  and  Hadar  reign- 
ed in  his  stead.  And  the  name  of  his  city  was  Pau.  And 
the  name  of  his  wife  was  Mehetabel,  daughter  of  Matred, 
the  daughter  of  Me-zahab. 

40  And  these  are  names  of  princes  of  Esau,  according  to 
their  families,  according  to  their  places,  by  their  names  ; 

41  prince     Timnah,     prince    Alvah,    prince     Jetheth,     prince 

42  Aholibamah,    prince    Elah,    prince    Pinon,    prince    Kenaz, 

43  prince  Teman,  prince  Mibzar,  prince  Magdiel,  prince 
Iram.  These  were  princes  of  Edom,  according  to  their 
habitations  in  the  land  of  their  possession.  He  is  Esau, 
father  of  the  Edomites. 

V.  37.  Rehoboth;  meaning,  streets,  and  hence  of  frequent  use  in  names  of  cities.  By  "the 
river"  is  meant  the  Euphrates  (ch.  31  :  21,  and  note),  where  a  name  corresponding  to  Rehoboth 
is  still  found.* 

Seventh  division,  vv.  40-43.    Other  princes  of  Esau's  race. 

These  are  mentioned  here  according  to  their  places  (v.  40),  or  habitations  (v.  43),  as  well  as 
their  families  and  names.  It  is  a  list  of  princely  residences;  that  is,  of  towns  or  cities  occu- 
pied as  such,  and  hence  deserving  to  be  commemorated.  Only  eleven  are  mentioned,  though 
the  Edomite  tribes  were  at  least  thirteen  in  number  (vv.  11-14),  some  having  been  apparently 
■wandering  tribes  without  a  fixed  abode. 

It  has  been  suggested,!  that  1  Chron.  1  :  51  may  perhaps  furnish  the  explanation  of  this 
second  list  of  princes  (compare  vv.  15-19)  in  Esau's  line.  The  expression,  "Hadad  "died  also, 
and  the  princes  of  Edom  were,"  etc.,  may  intimate  the  extinction  at  his  death  of  the  regal 
dignity,  and  a  return  to  the  simple  tribal  relation,  with  its  hereditary  princedoms. 

V.  42.    Kenaz.    Compare  the  note  on  ch.  15  :  19-21,  third  paragraph. 

Teman;  a  celebrated  district  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Idumsea,  distinguished  for  its  wise 
men  (Jer.  49  :  7),  and  as  the  residence  of  Eliphaz,  the  most  sagacious  and  profound  of  the 
speakers  opposed  to  Job  (Book  of  Job,  chs.  2  :  11,  4  :  1,  15  :  1,  22  :  1).  In  Amos  1  :  12,  it  stands 
as  the  representative  of  Idumrea. 

V.  43.  According  to  their  habitations,  which  bore  the  same  names.  They  are  mentioned  by 
the  names  of  the  settlements  founded  by  them,  and  named  alter  them.  Compare  the  first  para- 
graph of  the  remarks  under  this  seventh  division. 

*  "  It  is  not  strange,  where  personal  distinction  paved  the  way  to  the  throne,"  [compare  tho 
note  on  v.  31,  second  paragraph,]  "that  even  a  foreigner,  Saul  of  Rehoboth  by  the  River, 
attained  to  the  regal  dignity." — Tuch,  Kommentar  uber  die  Genesis. 

t  Berlheau,  die  Bucher  der  Chronik  erkldrt,  1  Chron.  1:51;  Delilzsch,  Commenlar  uber  die 
Genesis,  3te  Ausg.,  p.  611. 

152 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxxvn. 


1  And  Jacob  dwelt  in  the  land  of  his  father's  sojournings, 
in  the  land  of  Canaan. 

2  These  are  the  generations  of  Jacob.  Joseph,  being  sev- 
enteen years  old,  was  tending  the  flock  with  his  brothers, 
and  he  was  a  lad  with  the  sons  of  Bilhah  and  with  the 
sons  of  Zilpah  his  father's  wives.  And  Joseph  brought 
evil  report  concerning  them  to  their  father. 

3  And  Israel  loved  Joseph  above  all  his  sons,  for  a  son  of 
old  age  was  he  to  him,  and  he  made  him  a  full  length 
garment. 

4  And  his  brothers  saw  that  their  father  loved  him  above 
all  his  brothers  ;  and  they  hated  him,  and  could  not  speak 
to  him  peaceably. 

6  And  Joseph  dreamed  a  dream,  and  he  told  it  to  his 
brothers  ;  and  they  hated  him  yet  the  more. 

6  And  he   said  to  them  :  Hear,  I  pray,  this  dream  which 

7  I  dreamed.  For,  behold,  we  were  binding  sheaves  in  the 
midst  of  the  field  ;  and  behold,  my  sheaf  arose,  yea  and 
stood  upright ;  and  behold,  your  sheaves  stood  around,  and 
bowed  down  to  my  sheaf. 

8  And  his  brothers  said  to  him  :  Shalt  thou  indeed  reign 
over  us  ?  Or  shalt  thou  indeed  bear  rule  over  us  ?  And 
they  hated  him  yet  the  more,  for  his  dreams  and  for  his 
words. 

Ch.  37.     Family  history  of  Jacob  resumed.    Joseph  sold  into  Egypt. 

The  family  history  of  Jacob  is  here  resumed,  from  ch.  35,  after  the  brief  notice  of  Esau's 
descendants  in  ch.  36. 

V.  1.  Jacob  dwelt  .  .  .  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  The  reader's  attention  is  recalled  to  this 
fact  (compare  ch.  35  :  27)  as  a  proper  introduction  to  the  further  account  of  Jacob  and  his 
family. 

V.  2.     These  are  the  generations.     Compare  the  remark  on  ch.  2  :  4,  second  paragraph. 

He  wis  a  lad  with  the  sons  of  Bilhah,  etc.  They  had  the  oversight  and  direction  of  the  flock, 
and  of  the  field  servants,  and  he  was  a  lad  (servant-boy)  with  them,  for  the  lighter  service  of 
errands  and  the  like.     Compare  vv.  13,  14. 

V.  3.  A  fall  length  garment ;  covering  the  whole  person,  the  body  of  the  garment  extending 
to  the  feet,  and  the  sleeves  to  the  wrists.  Such  garments  were  worn  only  by  persons  exempted 
from  manual  labor,  and  were  indicative  of  rank  and  wealth.  The  injudicious  partiality  of  .Jacob 
conferred  this  distinction  on  the  favorite  child  of  his  qld  age.  On  the  contrary,  the  ordinary 
dress,  such  as  was  worn  by  persons  engaged  in  active  employments,  extended  but  a  little 
below  the  knee,  the  sleeves  reaching  only  to  the  elbow. 

V.  7.  In  the  midst  of  the  field.  The  language  expresses  the  minute  particularity  of  the  scene, 
as  presented  to  him  in  his  dream.  It  is  not  merely  the  general  conception,  "in  the  field;" 
they  were  "  iu  the  midst  of  it,"  as  it  stretched  away,  far  and  wide,  on  every  side  of  them. 

153 


Chap,  xxxvii.  GENESIS. 


9  And  he  dreamed  yet  another  dream,  and  'he  related  it 
to  his  brothers.  And  he  said  :  Behold,  I  have  dreamed  a 
dream  yet  again;  and  behold,  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and 
eleven  stars,  .bowed  down  to  me. 

10  And  he  related  it  to  his  father,  and  to  his  brothers. 
And  his  father  chided  him,  and  said  to  him  :  What  is  this 
dream  that  thou  hast  dreamed?  Shall  we  indeed  come,  I, 
and  thy  mother,  and  thy  brothers,  to  bow  ourselves  down 
to  thee  to  the  earth  ? 

11  And  his  brothers  envied  him  ;  but  his  father  kept  the 
saying. 

12  And  his  brothers  went  to   feed  their   father's   flock   in 

13  Shechem.  And  Israel  said  to  Joseph :  Are  not  thy 
brothers  feeding  the  flock  in  Shechem?  Come,  and  I  will 
send   thee   to   them.      And   he   said  to   him  :  Here    am  I. 

14  And  he  said  to  him  :  Go,  I  pray,  see  whether  it  is  well 
with  thy  brothers,  and  well  with  the  flocks  ;  and  bring  me 
word  again.  And  he  sent  him  from  the  valley  of  Hebron  ; 
and  he  came  to  Shechem. 

15  And  a  man  found  him,  and  behold,  he  was  wandering  in 
the. field.     And  the  man  asked  him,  saying:  What  seekest 

16  thou  ?     And   he    said  :  I    seek   my   brothers.      Tell   me,  I 

17  pray,  where  they  feed  their  flocks.  And  the  man  said  : 
They  have   removed   from   hence  ;  for  I  heard  them  say : 

W.  9-11.  His  second  dream  he  relates,  first  to  his  brothers,  and  then  to  his  father  and  hia 
brothers.  The  former  affects  to  chide  him  for  the  extravagance  of  the  obvious  import  of  his 
dream,  but,  with  the  natural  presentiment  of  parental  partiality,  treasures  it  up  in  his  memory 
(v.  11). 

V.  10.  Thy  mother.  Rachel  is  doubtless  meant.  As  the  whole  matter  belongs  to  the  sphere 
of  the  ideal,  this  reference  to  the  mother,  "  deceased,  but  neither  forgotten  nor  lost,"*  is  not 
out  of  place. 

V.  12.     In  Shechem.    Compare  ch.  12  :  G,  7,  and  note,  and  ch.  33  :  19,  and  note.f 

V.  14.     Valley  of  Hebron  ;  where  Jacob  was  dwelling.    Compare  ch.  35  :  27. 

*  Delilzsch,  on  the  passage,  p.  528. 

f  "  A  few  hours  north  of  Bethel,  a  valley  suddenly  opens  upon  the  traveler  among  the  hills, 
which,  though  not  so  extensive  as  Esdraelon  or  Sharon,  is  yet  unsurpassed,  in  point  of  beauty 
and  fertility,  by  any  other  region  in  the  holy  land.  ...  It  runs  very  nearly  north  and 
Bouth,  and  maybe  ten  or  twelve  miles  in  length,  and  a  mile  and  a  half  in  breadth.  .  .  . 
Toward  the  upper  part  of  the  plain,  the  mountains  which  skirt  its  western  side  fall  apart, 
leaving  a  somewhat  narrow  defile  between  them,  where  stands  Nablus,  the  ancient  Shechem  or 
Sychar.  A  more  lovely  spot  than  that  which  greets  the  eye  here  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  in 
any  land.  Streams,  which  gush  from  perennial  fountains,  impart  a  bright  and  constant  fresh- 
ness to  the  vegetation.'' — Br.  HaclceWs  Illustrations  of  Scripture,  8th  ed.,  p.  193. 

154 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xkxvjl 


Let  us  go  to  Dothan.     And  Joseph  went  after  his  brothers, 
and  found  them  in  Dothan. 

18  And  they  saw  him  afar  off;  and  before  he  came  near 

19  them,  they  plotted   against   him   to    slay  him.     And  they 

20  said  one  to  another  :  Behold,  this  dreamer  comes.  Now 
therefore,  come,  and  let  us  slay  him,  and  cast  him  into 
one  of  the  pits  ;  and  we  will  say  :  An  evil  beast  devoured 
him.     And  we  shall  see  what  will  become  of  his  dreams. 

21  And  Reuben  heard  it,  and  he  delivered  him  out  of  their 

22  hand  ;  and  he  said  :  Let  us  not  kill  him.  And  Reuben 
said  to  them  :  Do  not  shed  blood  ;  cast  him  into  this  pit 
that  is  in  the  wilderness,  and  do  not  lay  a  hand  upon 
him  ;  that  he  might  deliver  him  out  of  their  hand,  to 
return  him  to  his  father. 

23  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Joseph  came  to  his  brothers, 
that  they  stripped  Joseph   of  his   garment,  the  full  length 

24  garment,  that  was  on  him  ;  and  they  took  him,  and  cast 
him  into  the  pit.  And  the  pit  was  empty  ;  there  was  no 
water  in  it. 

25  And  they  sat  down  to  eat  bread.  And  they  lifted  up 
their  eyes  and  saw,  and  behold,  a  caravan  of  Ishmaelites 
coming  from  Gilead,  and  their  camels  bearing  tragacanth, 
and    balsam,    and    ladanum,    going    to    carry   it    down   to 

•     Egypt. 

V.  17.  Dothan;  meaning,  two  cisterns.  The  site  has  recently  been  found,  still  bearing  its 
ancient  name,  about  twelve  miles  north  of Shechem.  At  the  base  of  the  hill  Do  than  is  a  natural 
fountain,  and  in  the  vicinity  are  remains  of  large  cisterns.  It  is  among  the  richest  pasture- 
grounds  in  the  country.* 

VV.  21,  22.  Reuben, as  the  elder  brother, and  hence  bearingthe  chief  responsibility,  endeav- 
ors to  save  him;  dreading  to  encounter  his  father's  grief  and  displeasure  (v.  30)  if  he  suffered 
Joseph  to  fall  by  their  hands.  To  them  he  proposes,  that  they  should  leave  him  to  perish  in 
the  pit,  instead  of  imbruing  their  hands  in  his  blood. 

V.  25.  From  Gilead— to  Egypt.  Dothan  was  on  the  great  caravan  route  from  Damascus  to 
Egypt,  which  would  naturally  be  taken  by  traveling  merchants  from  northern  Gilead. 

The  substances  here  mentioned  were  among  the  most  celebrated  products  of  the  country. 
Compare  ch.  43  :  11. 

Ladanum;  a  precious  gum,  used  as  a  medical  stimulant,  and  as  a  perfumc.f 

*  "  Here  is  found  at  the  present  day  '  the  best  pasturage  in  all  that  region  ;'  and  thus,  though 
the  narrative  is  silent  as  to  the  reason  why  the  sons  of  Jacob  went  from  Shechem  to  Dothan, 
we  see  that  it  is  the  very  place  which  herdsmen,  such  as  they  were,  would  naturally  seek  after 
having  exhausted  the  supplies  of  their  previous  pasture-ground." — Smith's  Bible  Dictionary, 
art.  Dothan,  addition  to  the  American  edition. 

t  See  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Myrrh,  No.  2,  Lot. 

155 


Chap,  xxxvii.  GENESIS. 


26  And  Judah  said  to  his  brothers  :  What  profit  is  it  that 

27  we  slay  our  brother,  and  cover  his  blood  ?  Come,  and  let 
us  sell  him  to  the  Ishmaelites,  and  let  not  our  hand  be 
upon  him  ;  for  he  is  our  brother,  our  flesh.  And  his 
brothers  hearkened  to  it. 

28  And  Midianites,  merchants,  passed  by  ;  and  they  drew 
and  raised  up  Joseph  out  of  the  pit ;  and  they  sold  Joseph 
to  the  Ishmaelites  for  twenty  pieces  of  silver  ;  and  they 
brought  Joseph  into  Egypt. 

29  And  Reuben  returned  to  the  pit ;  and  behold,  Joseph 

30  was  not  in  the  pit ;  and  he  rent  his  clothes.  And  he 
returned  to  his  brothers,  and  said  :  The  child  is  not ;  and 
I,  whither  shall  I  go  ? 

31  And  they  took  Joseph's  garment,  and  they  killed  a  buck 

32  of  the  goats,  and  dipped  the  garment  in  the  blood.  And 
they  sent  the  full  length  garment,  and  brought  it  to  their 
father.     And  they  said  :  This  have  we  found  ;  discern  now, 

VV.  26,  27.  Judah,  apparently  not  aware  of  Reuben's  purpose,  or  perhaps  willing  to  have 
Joseph  removed  out  of  the  way,  proposes  to  spare  his  life,  and  sell  him  to  the  Ishmaelites.  A 
chance  was  thus  left,  if  this  was  what  he  sought,  for  his  restoration  to  his  father. 

V.  28.  The  Midianites  and  Ishmaelites  were  both  descendants  of  Abraham,  one  by  Hagar.and 
the  other  by  Keturah  (ch.  25  :  2,4).  Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  25  :  2-4,  first  and  fifth 
paragraphs. 

There  is  hardly  room  for  doubt,  that  by  the  subject  of  the  second  and  third  paragraphs 
("  they  drew," — "  they  sold")  are  meant  the  brothers  of  Joseph.  Compare  Judah's  proposal, 
v.  27,  and  Joseph's  statement,  ch.  45  ;  5,  "ye  sold  me  hither." 

It  has  been  sugsested,  that  the  "  Midianites,"  the  subject  of  the  first  clause,  are  meant  by  the 
pronoun  "they"  in  the  second  and  third  clauses;  that  their  attention  was  attracted,  or  directed, 
to  the  pit  where  Joseph  lay,  and  that  they  drew  him  out  and  sold  him  to  their  companions  the 
Ishmaelites.  It  is  claimed  that  this  accords  better  with  Joseph's  statement  (ch.  40  :  15), 
"I  was  verily  stolen  from  the  land  of  the  Hebrews,"  and  equally  well  with  the  statement  (ch. 
45  :  5),  "  ye  sold  me  hither,"  inasmuch  as  they  were  parties  to  the  crime,  being  cognizant  of  it 
and  conniving  at  it. 

The  only  thing  that  favors  this  construction  of  the  sentence*  is  the  language  in  ch.  40  :  15; 
and  this  is  certainly  applicable,  in  a  free  use  of  language,  to  the  manner  in  which  Joseph's 
brothers  disposed  of  him,  since  neither  they,  nor  those  to  whom  they  sold  him,  had  any  right  to 
his  person.f 

Twenty  pieces  of  silver .    Compare  Lev.  27  :  5. 

VV.  29,  34.  Sudden  and  overwhelming  grief,  as  well  as  other  violent  and  painful  emotions, 
were  expressed  by  rending  the  garments.  Compare  ch.  44  :  13 ;  Num.  14  :  6 ;  Josh.  7:6; 
Judges  11  :  35 ;  2  Sam.  13  :  19;  Ezra  9  :  3. 

*  The  attentive  reader  must  have  observed,  that  the  change  of  subject,  as  well  as  object,  in 
successive  clauses,  without  any  indication  of  it,  is  very  common  in  the  structure  of  Hebrew 
sentences. 

t  In  that  passage,  he  aims  only  to  show  that  he  is  guiltless  of  any  offense.  Hence  he  affirms, 
that  he  was  not  in  slavery  on  account  of  crime;  that  he  was  stolen  from  his  home,  that  is,  was 
taken  away  wrongfully  and  without  just  cause. 

156 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxxvm. 


33  whether  it  is  thy  son's  garment,  or  not.  And  he  knew  it; 
and  he  said  :  It  is  my  son's  garment ;  an  evil  beast  has 
devoured  him  ;  Joseph  is  surely  torn  in  pieces. 

34  And  Jacob  rent  his  garments,  and  put  sackcloth  on  his 

35  loins,  and  mourned  for  his  son  many  days.  And  all  his 
sons,  and  all  his  daughters,  rose  up  to  console  him.  And 
he  refused  to  be  consoled  ;  and  he  said  :  I  will  go  down 
to  my  son  mourning,  to  the  underworld.  And  his  father 
wept  for  him. 

36  And  the  Midianites  sold  him  into  Egypt,  to  Potiphar,  an 
officer  of  Pharaoh,  captain  of  the  life-guard. 

1  And  it  came  to  pass  at  that  time,  that  Judah  went  down 
from  his  brothers,  and  turned  aside  to  a  man,  an  Adullam- 
ite,  whose  name  was  Hirah. 

V.  1.     Or,  stretched  his  tent  near  by  an  Adullamite 

Sackcloth  was  a  coarse  fabric  of  goat's  hair,  used  for  making  sacks,  the  same  word  in  Hebrew 
meaning  both.  It  was  of  a  dark  and  sombre  color,  and  was  worn  as  an  expression  of  mourning 
(2  Sam.  3  :  31),  and  of  self-humiliation  (1  Kings  20  :  31,  21  :  27),  sometimes  next  the  skin  (2  King3 
6  :  30;  Job  16  :  15). 

V.  35.  Allhis  daughters.  By  these  are  meant  his  one  daughter  (Dinah),  and  his  daughters- 
in-law. 

Iioillgo  down  to  my  son.     Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  25  :  8,  third  and  fourth  paragraphs.* 

The  underworld.  By  this  term  is  meant  (of  course  only  in  figurative  conception)  the  abode  of 
the  departed,  the  world  of  spirits.  It  is  conceived  of  as  beneath  (Isaiah  14  :  9),  as  wider  the 
earth  (Rev.  5  :  3,  13,  Philip.  2  :  10),  as  reached  by  digging  into  it  (Amos  9:2);  men  are  said  to 
go  down  into  it  (Num.  16  :  33)  ;  its  depth  below  is  contrasted  with  the  height  of  heaven  above 
(Job  11  :  8).  Such  expressions  are  intended  to  accommodate  what  is  said  to  common  appre- 
hension, and  not  to  teach  us  anything  respecting  the  locality  of  the  abode  of  departed  spirits. 

V.  36.     The  Midianites  sold  him.    Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  39  :  1. 

Pharaoh.    See  the  note  on  ch.  12  :  15. 

Ch.  38.  Judah's  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  a  Canaanite.  His  unlawful  connection  with 
Tamar. 

The  incidents  of  this  strange  story  are  instructive  in  many  points  of  view.  They  show  the 
character  and  the  moral  influence  of  heathenism,  with  which  Judah,  voluntarily  and  in  dis- 
regard of  the  divine  will,  brought  himself  in  connection. 

V.  1.  Turned  aside  to,  etc.;  that  is,  accepted  his  hospitality,  and  became  his  guest.  The 
phrase,  in  this  sense,  originated  in  the  custom  of  turning  off  from  the  beaten  road  to  a  dwelling 
near  it,  to  obtain  lodging  and  food.     Compare  the  remark  on  ch.  is  •  5. 

Some  scholars  translate  as  in  the  margin  ;f  but  the  rendering  given  in  the  text  is  more  prob- 
ably the  true  one. 

Adullamite.  Adullam  was  one  of  the  many  small  principalities  in  Canaan  (Josh.  12:15), 
situated  in  the  low  country  of  Judah  (Josh.  15  :  20,  33,  35)4 

*  "  To  follow  him  thither,  there  to  find  him  again,  is  the  only  consolation  of  the  aged  father." 
— Belilzsvh,  Commerdar  ubvr  die  Genesis,  3te  Ausg.,  p.  531. 

f  Delilzsch,  Keil,  Lange. 

j  On  the  site  of  the  cave  of  Adullam  (1  Sam.  22  :  1  ;  2  Sam.  23  :  13  ;  1  Chron.  11  :  15),  see  Dr. 
Hackett's  addition  to  the  art.  Adullam,  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  American  edition. 

157 


Chap,  xxxvin.  GENESIS. 


2  And  Judali  saw  there  a  daughter  of  a  Canaanite,  whose 
name  was  Shuah  ;  and  he  took  her,  and  went  in  to  her. 

3  And  she  conceived,  and  bore  a  son  ;  and  he  called  his 
name  Er. 

4  And  she  conceived  again,  and  bore  a  son ;  and  she  called 
his  name  Onan. 

5  And  she  conceived  yet  again,  and  bore  a  son  ;  and  she 
called  his  name  Shelah.  And  he  was  at  Chezib  when  she 
bore  him. 

6  And  Judah  took   a  wife  for  Er  his  first-born,  and  her 

7  name  was  Tamar.  And  Er,  Judah's  first-born,,  was  wicked 
in  the  sight  of  Jehovah  ;  and  Jehovah  slew  him. 

8  And  Judah  said  to  Onan  :  Go  in  to  thy  brother's  wife, 
and  perform  the  duty  of  a  husband's  brother  to  her,  and 
raise  up  seed  to  thy  brother. 

9  And  Onan  knew  that  the  seed  would  not  be  his.  And 
it  came  to  pass,  when  he  went  in  to  his  brother's  wife, 
that  he  wasted  it  on  the  ground,  in  order  not  to  give  seed 

10  to  his  brother.  And  that  which  he  did  was  evil  in  the 
sight  of  Jehovah  ;  and  he  slew  him  also. 

11  And  Judah  said  to  Tamar  his  daughter-in-law  :  Abide  a 
widow  in  thy  father's  house,  till  Shelah  my  son  shall  grow 
up.  For  he  said  :  Lest  he  also  die,  as  his  brothers.  And 
Tamar  went,  and  abode  in  her  father's  house. 

V.  2.  The  occurrence  mentioned  in  this  verse  seems  to  have  determined  Judah  to  fix  hia 
abode  there  for  a  time. 

Took  her,  as  a  wife  ;  the  word  meaning,  to  take  in  marriage. 

V.  5.  Chezib;  the  same  as  Achzib,  in  the  low  country  of  Judah  (Josh.  15  :  33,  44).  Shelah's 
posterity,  "the  family  of  the  Shelanites,"  are  mentioned  among  "the  sons  of  Judah  .after  their 
families,"  in  Num.  26  :  20.  The  fact  incidentally  mentioned  in  the  last  clause  of  this  verse  fixes 
the  birthplace  of  their  ancestor. 

V.  8.  For  the  usage  here  referred  to  see  Deut.  25  :  5,  G.  This  passage  shows  that  it  was 
much  older  than  the  date  of  the  Mosaic  law,  which  only  regulated  its  observance,  as  in  the 
case  of  many  other  of  the  previously  existing  institutions  of  civil  society.  Compare  the  Savior's 
remark,  Matt.  19  :  8,  Mark  10  :  5.  Its  object  was  to  prevent  the  extinction  of  the  name  of  any 
member  of  the  family.  Compare  the  similar  instance  of  the  desire  for  the  perpetuation  of  one's 
name  and  memory,  referred  to  in  the  notes  on  ch.  1G,  introductory  remarks,  second  para- 
graph. 

Perform  the  duty  of  a  husband's  brother  to  her.  So  the  import  of  the  Hebrew  word  is  cor- 
rectly expressed,  in  the  common  English  version,  in  Deut.  25  :  5. 

V.  9.  Would  not  be  his ;  so  that  he  would  alienate  from  himself  both  the  name  and  the 
patrimony,  in  favor  of  his  deceased  elder  brother. 

V.  11.  A  loidow  in  thy  father's  house.  Compare  Lev.  22  :  13.  It  is  there  implied,  that  it 
was  customary  for  a  childless  widow  to  return  to  her  father's  house. 

158 


GENESIS.  Chat,  xxxvm. 


u  And  after  many  days,  the  daughter  of  Shuah,  Judah's 
wife,  died.  And  Judah  consoled  himself;  and  he  went  up 
to  his  sheep-shearers,  he  and  Hirah  his  friend  the  Adul- 
lamite,  to  Timnah. 

13  And   it   was   told  Tamar,  saying  :  Behold,  thy  father-in- 

14  law  goes  up  to  Timnah,  to  shear  his  sheep.  And  she  put 
off  from  her  the  garments  of  her  widowhood,  and  covered 
herself  with  a  vail,  and  wrapped  herself,  and  sat  at  the 
entrance  to  two  fountains,  which  is  by  the  way  to  Timnah. 
For  she  saw  that  Shelah  was  grown  up,  and  she  was  not 
given  to  him  for  a  wife. 

V.  14.     Or,  at  the  entrance  of  Enayim 

V.  12.     Consoled  himself ;  ceased  to  mourn  for  her. 

Went  up— to  Timnah  (as  the  name  should  be  written);  the  place  spoken  of  in  Josh.  15  :  57, 
as  "in  the  mountains"  (v.  4S),  namely  of  Judah  (v.  20). 

V.  14.     Wrapped  herself;  so  as  to  disguise  her  form,  her  face  being  covered  by  the  vail. 

Entrance  to  two  fountains.  A  fountain,  by  the  way-side,  was  the  place  where  she  would  bo 
most  likely  to  attract  the  attention  of  one  passing  by.  She  therefore  sat  at  the  entrance  to  the 
two. fountains  near  the  beaten  road  (v.  21),  so  that  one  could  not  turn  aside  to  tkem  without 
observing  her. 

The  Hebrew  word  meaning  two  fountains  (enayim)  is  commonly  understood  to  be  here  tho 
name  of  a  town  (Enayim),  so  called  from  the  fountains  to  which  it  owe  1  its  origin.  See  tho 
marginal  rendering.  But  to  this  rendering  there  are  the  following  objections.  First,  tho 
entrance  to  a  town  was  too  public  and  frequented  a  place  for  her  object.  Secondly,  a  town 
would  not  be  identified  by  speaking  of  it  (as  in  v.  21)  as  being  "by  the  way;"  but  it  would  bo 
natural  to  speak  of  the  fountains  as  being  "  by  the  way,"  if  the  public  road  passed  by  them. 
Thirdly,  the  expression,  "  turned  aside  to  her  by  the  way"  (v.  1,G),  shows  that  she  wag  sitting 
by  the  road-side,  and  not  at  the  entrance  to  a.  town.  Fourthly,  the  narrator  says  (v.  21),  that 
Hirak  made  inquiry  of  "  the  men  of  her  place"  (not  "  of  that  place,"  as  in  the  common  English 
version)  ;  by  which  the  narrator  means  the  place  where  she  resided,  being  not  far  from  the  two 
fountains.  When  Hirah  himself  speaks  (v.  22),  he  simply  says,  "  the  place,"  not  knowing  any- 
thing of  her  or  her  residence.*  It  does  not  follow,  therefore,  that  by  "men  of  the  place"  aia 
meant  people  of  the  town  at  the  gate  of  which  she  sat. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  fountains  were  at  a  little  distance  outside  (ch.  2-1  :  11)  of  the 
town  named  Irom  them;  and  that  Tamar,  perhaps  residing  there,  sat  down  by  the  road-side  at 
the  entrance  to  them,  to  attract  the  notice  of  Judah  as  he  passed  by. 

Enayim  (margin) ;  probably  the  same  as  Euam  (both  forms  having  the  same  meaning)  men- 
tioned in  Josh.  15  :  34. t 

*  The  evidence  to  the  minute  truthfulness  of  the  narrative,  furnished  by  such  slisrht  but  sin- 
gularly apt  coincidences,  should  not  be  overlooked.  Several  occur  in'  this  brief  and  striking 
narrative.  In  v.  1,  it  is  said,  he  "went  down;"  and  we  learn  elsewhere  (sec  the  note  on  tho 
verse)  that  Adullam  was  in  the  low  country.  While  he  was  in  that  region,  it  is  said  (v.  5), 
"  he  was  at  Chezib"  when  his  third  son  was  born;  and  we  learn  elsewhere  (see  the  note  on  tho 
verse)  that  this  place  was  also  in  the  low  country.  While  he  was  still  there,  it  is  said  (v.  12), 
he  "  went  up  to  Timnah;"  and  this  place  (as  we  learn  elsewhere,  see  the  note  on  tho  verse), 
was  in  the  mountain  district. 

No  book  is  so  rich  as  the  Bible  in  these  casual  (so  to  speak)  and  undesigned  coincidences, 
which  are  the  surest  attestation  of  truthfulness,  and  can  be  accounted  for  on  no  other  supposi- 
tion. 

t  Compare  the  art.  Enajim  (properly,  Enayim),  added  by  Dr.  Hackett  to  Smith's  Bible  Dic- 
tionary, American  edition. 

159 


Chap,  xxxvm.  GENESIS. 


15  And  Judah  saw  her,  and  he  thought  her  to  be  a  harlot ; 
because  she  covered  her  face. 

16  And  he  turned  aside  to  her  by  the  way,  and  said  : 
Come,  I  pray,  let  me  come  in  to  thee.  For  he  knew  not 
that  she  was  his  daughter-in-law.  And  she  said  :  What 
wilt   thou   give   me,   that   thou  mayest   come   in   to    me  ? 

17  And  he  said  :  I  will  send  a  kid  of  the  goats,  from  the 
flock.     And  she   said  :  Wilt   thou  give  a  pledge,  till  thou 

18  send  it  ?  And  he  said  :  What  is  the  pledge  that  I  shall 
give  thee  ?  And  she  said  :  Thy  signet-ring,  and  thy  cord, 
and  thy  staff  that  is  in  thy  hand.  And  he  gave  them  to 
her  ;  and  he  went  in  to  her,  and  she  conceived  by  him. 

19  And  she  arose,  and  went  away  ;  and  she  put  off  her 
vail  from  her,  and  put  on  the  garments  of  her  widow- 
hood. 

20  And  Judah  sent  the  kid  of  the  goats  by  the  hand  of  his 
friend  the  Adullamite,  to  receive  the  pledge  from  the  hand 

21  of  the  woman  ;  and  he  found  her  not.  And  he  asked  the 
men  of  her  place,  saying  :  Where  is  the  harlot,  she  at  the 
two  fountains,  by  the  way  ?  And  they  said  :  There  was 
no  harlot  here. 

22  And  he  returned  to  Judah,  and  said  :  I  did  not  find 
her  ;  and  also  the  men  of  the  place  said  :  There  was  no 
harlot  here. 

23  And  Judah  said  :  Let  her  take  them  for  herself,  lest  we 
be  scorned.  Behold  I  sent  this  kid,  and  thou  didst  not 
find  her.  • 

24  And  it  came  to  pass,  about  three  months  after,  that  it 
was  told  Judah,  saying  :  Tamar,  thy  daughter-in-law,  has 
committed   harlotry  ;    and   also,  behold,  she   is  with   child 


V.  21.     Or,  she  at  Enayim 


V.  18.     Cord,  by  which  the  signet-ring  was  attached  to  the  neck. 

VV.  21,  22.  Her  place.  See  the  remarks  on  v.  14,  third  paragraph,  under  the  fourth  objec- 
tion. 

Enayim  (margin) ;  see  the  remarks  on  v.  14,  fifth  paragraph. 

The  word  rendered  harlot,  in  these  two  verses,  and  for  which  we  have  no  other  intelligible 
expression,  means  consecrated;  namely,  to  the  goddess  of  licentiousness,  to  whose  temple  and 
worship  her  gains  were  devoted.  The  name,  and  the  custom  on  which  it  was  founded,  only 
partially  reveal  the  fearful  corruption  of  religion  and  morals  wherever  idolatry  prevailed. 

160 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xxxvm. 


by    harlotry.      And   Judah  said  :    Bring   her   out,   and  let 
her  be  burnt. 

25  She  was  brought  out ;  and  she  sent  to  her  father-in-law, 
saying  :  By  the  man,  whose  these  are,  am  I  with  child. 
And  she  said :  Discern,  I  pray,  whose  are  these,  the  signet- 
ring,  and  the  cord,  and  the  staff. 

26  And  Judah  knew  them  ;  and  he  said  :  She  is  more  in 
the  right  than  I  ;  because  I  gave  her  not  to  Shclah  my 
son.     And  he  knew  her  again  no  more. 

27  And   it   came    to    pass   at  the   time   of  her   labor,  that, 

28  behold,  there  were  twins  in  her  womb.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  when  she  was  in  labor,  that  one  put  out  a  hand  ; 
and   the   midwife   took   and  bound   on  his  hand   a  scarlet 

29  thread,  saying  :  This  came  out  first.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
as  he  drew  back  his  hand,  that,  behold,  his  brother  came 
out.  And  she  said  :  How  hast  thou  broken  forth  ?  On 
thee  be  a  breach  !     And  his  name  was  called  Pharez. 

30  And  afterward  came  out  his  brother,  on  whose  hand 
was  the  scarlet  thread.     And  his  name  was  called  Zarah. 

V.  2G.     Or,  for  therefore  I  gave  her  not 

V.  24.  Let  her  be  burnt.  On  the  authority  of  the  head  of  the  family  and  household,  compare 
ch.  31  :  32. 

Tamar  was  regarded  as  betrothed  to  Shelah  (vv.  11,  14),  and  the  penalty  of  her  crime  was 
death.  But  Judah's  sentence  was  more  severe  than  that  of  the  Mosaic  law,  by  which  only 
incest  (Lev.  20  :  14),  and  violation  of  chastity  by  a  priest's  daughter,  a  profanation  of  the 
sacred  order  (Lev.  21  :  9),  were  punishable  by  burning  with  lire. 

V.  25.  Not  till  she  was  brought  out  to  die  this  horrible  death  did  she  expose  the  author  of 
her  ignominy,  and  then  only  to  himself.  Though  highly  culpable,  in  the  eye  of  the  divine  law, 
for  the  course  she  adopted,  she  seera3  to  have  intended  merely  to  tost  her  own  rights,  denied 
her  by  the  timid  policy  of  Judah.  In  regard  to  these  rights,  Judah  himself  acknowledged  that 
her  claim  was  just,  and  that  he  was  the  offender. 

Allowance  must  of  course  be  made,  in  her  case,  for  the  loose  sentiments  and  practices  of  the 
age.  It  hf.s  been  justly  said  *  that  her  conduct,  culpable  as  it  was,  was  marked  by  shrewdness, 
tenderness,  and  magnanimity. 

Y.  2G.  She  is  more  in  the  right  tlian  I.  That  is,  her  cause  is  more  jnst  than  mine  :  I  am  the 
offender.  He  admits  that  in  withholding  Shelah,  her  rightful  husband  (v.  11),  lie  had  been 
guilty  of  a  wrong,  and  that  her  claim,  which  he  had  denied,  was  just. 

For  therefore  (margin)  ;  namely,  that  it  might  come  to  this,  expressing,  not  tin;  purpose,  bnt 
the  necessary  result  of  his  conduct. 

V.  28.  Bound  on  his  hand  a  scarlet  thread ;  as  the  only  mean3  of  determining,  in  such  a  case, 
which-should  be  entitled  to  the  rights  of  primogeniture. 

VV.  2D,  30.  On  thee  be  a  breach  !  That  is,  bear  this  name,  and  the  wrong  implied  in  it. 
Pharez;  meaning,  breach.  Zarah;  a  coming  forth,  said  especially  of  the  rising  sun,  and  indi- 
cating that  the  one  so  called  was  foremost,  and  should  be  recognized  as  leader. 

*  Delitzsch,  Commentar  uber  die  Genesis,  3te  Ausg.,  p.  538. 
L  161 


Chap,  xxsix.  GENESIS. 


1  And  Joseph  was  brought  down  to  Egypt.  And  Poti- 
phar,  an  officer  of  Pharaoh,  captain  of  the  life-guard, 
an  Egyptian,  bought  him  at  the  hand  of  the  Ishmaelites, 
who  brought  him  down  thither. 

2  And  Jehovah  was  with  Joseph,  and  he  was  a  prosperous 
man ;  and  he  was  in  the  house  of  his  master,  the  Egyptian. 

8  And  his  master  saw  that  Jehovah  was  with  him  ;  and 
all    that   he    did   Jehovah   made   to   prosper   in   his  hand. 

4  And  Joseph  found  favor  in  his  sight,  and  served  him. 
And  he  made  him  overseer  over  his  house,  and  all  that  he 
had  he  gave  into  his  hand. 

5  And  it  came  to  pass  from  the  time  that  he  made  him 
overseer  in  his  house,  and  over  all  that  he  had,  that  Jeho- 
vah blessed  the  house  of  the  Egyptian  on  account  of  Jo- 
seph ;  and  the  blessing  of  Jehovah  was  upon  all  that  he 

6  had,  in  the  house  and  in  the  field.  And  he  left  all  that 
he   had   in   Joseph's   hand  ;    and   he  knew  not  aught  with 

The  omen  vvas  not  prophetic,  however;  for  Pharez  took  the  lead  in  the  family  of  Judah,  and 
through  him  its  glory  and  influence  were  perpetuated.* 

Through  Pharez,  the  offspring  of  Judah  by  Tamar,  she  is  included  in  the  genealogy  of  our 
Lord  (Matt.  1  :  3).  It  is  not  strange  that  this,  and  other  like  cases,  should  be  ground  of  offense. 
There  were  Pharisees  in  the  days  of  our  Lord,  who  scoffed  at  his  permitting  the  humble  approach 
of  sinners,  whose  burdens  they  themselves  would  not  lift  with  their  finger.  And  there  are 
Pharisees  still,  who  mock  at  his  origin  from  such  as  he  came  to  seek  and  save,  of  whom  no  out- 
cast is  so  vile  as  not  to  be  assured  of  his  sympathy  and  help.f 

But  such  is  not  the  wisdom  of  God.  He  chose  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  put  to  shame 
the  wise;  and  weak  things  of  the  world  to  put  to  shame  the  strong;  and  base  things  of  the 
world,  and  things  which  are  despised  ;  that  no  iflesh  should  glory  before  God-t 

Ch.  33.  Joseph  is  brought  down  to  Egypt,  and  sold  as  a  slave.  He  is  falsely  accused  to  his 
master,  and  imprisoned. 

V.  1.  Pharaoh.  See  the  note  on  ch.  12  :  15.  On  the  Pharaoh  of  this  and  the  following 
chapters,  see  the  remarks  at  the  close  of  ch.  41. 

Bought  him— of  the  Ishmaelites.  The  Ishmaelites  seem  to  have  formed  the  main  body  of  the 
caravan,  and  hence  it  was  named  from  them  in  ch.  37  :  25,  23.  For  the  same  reason  the  caravan 
ia  so  named  here,  though  Midianites,  who  joined  it  and  were  a  part  of  it,  were  the  immediate 
authors  of  the  sale.    See  ch.  37  :  36. 

V.  3.  Sato  that  Jehovah  teas  with  him;  in  its  results.  It  does  not  necessarily  follow,  that  he 
recognized  Jehovah  as  the  author  of  them. 

V.  G.  Knew  not  aught  with  him;  that  is,  in  common  with  him.  He  left  all  in  his  care,  taking 
no  share  with  him  in  the  direction  or  knowledge  of  his  own  affairs. 

*  See  the  table  of  his  numerous  descendants,  in  their  several  branches,  in  Smith's  Bible  Dic- 
tionary, art.  Pharez. 

t  Calvin  well  suggests,  that  he  derived  no  nobility  from  his  birlh,  and  that  his  descent  from 
each  ancestors  was  part  of  thit  "  emptying  of  himself :'  (Philipp.  2:7),  when  he  assumed  our 
nature. — Calvin  in  librum  Geneseos. 

t  1  Cor.  1  :  27-20. 

162 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xxxk. 


him,    save   the  bread  that  he    ate.      And  Joseph  was  of 
beautiful  form,  and  of  beautiful  countenance. 

7  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  his  master's 
wife  lifted  her  eyes  toward  Joseph  ;  and  she  said  :  Lie 
with  me. 

8  And  he  refused.  And  he  said  to  his  master's  wife  :  Be- 
hold my  master  knows  not  with  me  what  is  in  the  house, 

9  and  all  that  he  has  he  has  given  into  my  hand.  He  is 
not  greater  in  this  house  than  I ;  and  he  has  not  with- 
held from  me  anything,  except  thee,  because  thou  art  his 
wife  ;  and  how  can  I  do  this  great  evil,  and  sin  against 
God? 

10  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  she  spoke  to  Joseph  day  by 
day,  that  he   hearkened  not  to  her,  to   lie   down   by  her 

11  side  to  be  with  her.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  this  time, 
that  he  went  into  the  house  to  do  his  business,  and  there 
was  no  one  of  the  men  of  the  house  there  in  the  house. 

12  And  she  laid  hold  of  him  by  his  garment,  saying :  Lie 
with  me  ;  and  he  left  his  garment  in  her  hand,  and  fled, 
and  went  forth  out  of  the  house. 

13  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  she  saw  that  he  left  his  gar- 

14  ment  in  her  hand,  and  fled  out  of  the  house,  that  she 
called  to  the  men  of  her  house,  and  spoke  to  them,  saying: 


Save  the  bread  that  he  ale;  a  proverbial  expression,  implying  the  least  possible  concern 
about  his  own  affairs,  or  knowledge  of  them. 

V.  7.  Both  ancient  and  modern  writers  agree  in  ascribing  to  Egyptian  women,  in  general, 
the  character  here  exhibited  in  this  conduct  of  Potiphar'a  wife.  This  fact,  in  connection  with 
the  confidence  Joseph  had  before  inspired,  strengthened  by  an  ingenuous  and  truthlike  assertion 
of  his  innocence,  may  account  for  the  lenity  shown  him,  which  is  otherwise  unintelligible. 

V.  8.    Knows  not  with  me ;  as  in  v.  C. 

V.  9.  He  is  not  greater  in  this  house  than  I.  He  has  clothed  me  with  his  own  authority  over 
all  in  the  house,  making  mc  equal  to  himself. 

How  can  I  do  this  great  evil,  and  sin  against  God.  A  golden  saying,  which  should  be  ever 
at  hand,  to  resist  temptation  to  any  wrong  act.  It  should  be  the  first  lesson  of  childhood.  Let 
every  one,  when  tempted  to  do  wrong,  pause  and  say  :  How  can  I  do  THIS  evil,  and  sin 
against  God  ? 

V.  10.     To  be  with  her;  in  the  sense  in  which  this  phrase  is  used  in  2  Sam.  13  :  20. 

V.  11.    At  this  lime ;  namely,  the  time. when  she  was  thus  importuning  him. 

To  do  his  business ;  not  putting  himself  in  the  way  of  temptation  or  of  danger,  but  attending 
to  the  duties  which  he  owed  to  his  master. 

V.  14.  He  has  brought  in  a  Hebrew.  This  she  intimates  as  an  offense  ;  though,  with  a  reserve 
natural  in  such  a  case,  she  forbears  to  refer  to  the  offender  by  name.  The  elevation  over  them 
of  a  foreigner  and  a  Hebrew  had  prepared  them  to  be  favorable  listeners  to  the  tale  of  pro- 
tended outrage.    Compare  ch.  43  :  32,  46  :  34. 

1G3 


Chap.  xxxk.  GENESIS. 


See,  he  brought  in  to  us  a  Hebrew,  to  mock  us.  He  came 
in  to  me  to  lie  with  me,  and  I  cried  with  a  loud  voice. 
16  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  he  heard  that  I  raised  my 
voice  and  cried,  that  he  left  his  garment  by  me,  and  went 
forth  out  of  the  house. 

16  And   she   laid  up  his  garment  by  her,  until  his  master 

17  came  to  his  house.  And  she  spoke  to  him  according  to 
these    words,    saying  :  The    Hebrew   servant,    whom   thou 

18  hast  brought  in  to  us,  came  in  to  me  to  mock  me.  And 
it  came  to  pass,  when  I  raised  my  voice  and  cried,  that  he 
left  his  garment  by  me,  and  fled  out  of  the  house. 

19  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  his  master  heard  the  words 
of  his  wife,  which  she  spoke  to  him,  saying  :  According  to 
these   words   did   thy  servant  to   me,  that   his   anger  was 

20  kindled.  And  Joseph's  master  took  him,  and  put  him 
into  the  prison,  the  place  where  the  king's  prisoners  were 
bound  ;  and  he  was  there  in  the  prison. 

21  And  Jehovah  was  with  Joseph  ;  and  he  caused  kindness 
to  be  shown  him,  and  gave  him  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the 

22  keeper  of  the  prison.  And  the  keeper  of  the  prison  gave 
into  Joseph's  hand  all  the  prisoners  that  were  in  the 
prison  ;  and  whatever  they  did  there,  he  was  the  doer  of 

23  it.     The   keeper   of  the  prison  looked  not  to  anything  in 


To  mock ;  to  make  light  of,  by  rude  and  indecent  treatment,  such  as  improper  liberties 
attempted  with  a  modest  woman. 

Us;  including  with  herself  the  other  female  members  of  the  household,  as  though  all  were 
exposed  to  the  like  indignities. 

The  whole  account  shows  that  women  were  not  condemned  to  the  absolute  seclusion  required 
in  some  ancient  countries.* 

V.  19.     According  to  these  words  ;  namely,  as  has  been  told. 

V.  20.  Put  him  into  the  prison;  of  which  he  had  charge,  as  captain  of  the  king's  life-gnard 
(v.  1),  who  were  also  his  executioners.  This  being  the  place  of  confinement  for  "the  king's 
prisoners"  (next  clause),  it  was  therefore  under  his  control. 

Were  bound ;  that  is,  restrained  of  their  liberty  by  confinement  within  the  prison  walls, 
equivalent  to  being  bound,  a  practice  in  which  the  expression  originated. 

V.  21.  Keeper  of  the  prison ;  an  officer  having  immediate  charg?  of  the  prison,  and  subor- 
dinate to  the  captain  of  the  life-guard. 

V.  22.  He  was  the  doer  of  it.  Whatever  was  done  there  was  done  through  him ;  namely,  by 
his  authority. 

*  "The  Egyptian  women  enjoyed  greater  liberty,  confidence,  and  consideration,  than  under 
the  hareem  of  the  Greeks  and  Persians."— Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson,  note  to  Rawlinson's  Herodo- 
tus, book  ii.,  ch.  34.  Compare  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  first  series, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  389. 

164 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xl. 


his   hand,  because   Jehovah   was  with   him ;  and  what   he 
did  Jehovah  made  to  prospei\ 

1  And  it  came  to  pass,  after  these  things,  that  the  butler 
of  the  king  of  Egypt  and  the  baker  offended  against  their 

2  lord,  the  king  of  Egypt.  And  Pharaoh  was  wroth  against 
his  two  officers,  against  the  chief  of  the  butlers,  and  against 

3  the  chief  of  the  bakers.  And  he  put  them  in  ward  in  the 
house  of  the  captain  of  the  life-guard,  into  the  prison,  the 
place  where  Joseph  was  bound. 

4  And  the  captain  of  the  guard  appointed  Joseph  to  be 
with  them,  and  he  served  them.  And  they  were  for  a 
time  in  ward. 

6  And  they  dreamed  a  dream  both  of  them,  each  his 
dream  in  one  night,  each  according  to  the  interpretation 
of  his  dream,  the  butler  and  the  baker  of  the  king  of 
Egypt,  who  were  bound  in  the  prison. 

6  And  Joseph  came  in  to  them  in  the  morning  ;  and  he 

7  saw  them,  and  behold,  they  were  sad.  And  he  asked 
Pharaoh's  officers,  who  were  with  him  in  ward  in  his 
master's  house,  saying  :  Wherefore  are  your  faces  sad 
to-day  ? 

8  And  they  said  to  him  :  We  have  dreamed  a  dream,  and 
there  is  no  interpreter  of  it.  And  Joseph  said  to  them  : 
Do  not  interpretations  belong  to  God  ?  Relate  it  to  me,  I 
pray. 


Ch.  40.    Joseph  interprets  the  dreams  of  the  chief  butler  and  the  chief  baker  of  the  kins;. 

V.  2.  Was  wroth.  The  Hebrew  word  was  used  to  express  the  anger  of  persons  high  in 
Btation  and  authority. 

V.  3.  House  of  die  captain  of  the  life-guard;  connected,  as  was  also  the  prison,  with  the 
quarters  of  the  life-guard. 

Was  bound;  used  as  in  ch.  3!)  :  20,  note,  second  paragraph. 

V.  4.  These  high  officers  of  state  (for  such  they  were,  in  accordance  with  Oriental  usage; 
compare  the  case  of  Nehemiah,  Neb.  2:  1-!)),  were  treated  with  the  consideration  due  to 
their  rank,  while  the  issue  of  their  arrest  was  pending.  The  captain  of  the  lifeguard  himself 
assigned  Joseph  as  their  personal  attendant. 

V.  5.  According  to  the  interpretation  of  his  dream  ;  that  is,  corresponding  t<>  its  import  and 
significance.    Each  one's  dream  had  its  special  application,  and  was  conformed  to  it. 

V.  8.  We  have  no  interpreter,  as  we  might  have  were  we  at  liberty,  so  as  to  have  access  to 
those  skilled  in  such  thin,"-. 

Joseph  suggests,  in  reply,  that  interpretations  are  God's  special  prerogative  and  his  gift,  and 
not  the  exclusive  right  of  professional  interpreters,  such  as  they  refer  to. 

165 


Chap.  xl.  GENESIS. 


9       And  the  chief  of  the  butlers  related  his  dream  to  Joseph. 
And   he   said  to  him  :  In  my  dream,  behold,   a  vine  was 

10  before  me.  And  in  the  vine  were  three  branches.  And 
it  was  budding,  its  blossom  sprang  up,  its  clusters  yielded 

11  ripened  grapes.  And  Pharaoh's  cup  was  in  my  hand  ;  and 
I  took  the  grapes,  and  pressed  them  into  Pharaoh's  cup ; 
and  I  gave  the  cup  into  Pharaoh's  hand. 

12  And   Joseph   said   to   him  :   This    is    its    interpretation. 

13  The  three  branches  are  three  days.  Within  three  days 
will  Pharaoh  lift  up  thy  head,  and  restore  thee  to  thy 
place  ;   and   thou  wilt  give    Pharaoh's   cup  into   his  hand, 

14  after  the  former  manner,  when  thou  wast  his  butler.  But 
remember  me  by  tlryself,  when  it  shall  be  well  with  thee, 
and  show  kindness  to  me  I  pray,  and  make  mention  of  me 

15  to  Pharaoh,  and  bring  me  out  from  this  house.  For  I  was 
verily  stolen  from  the  land  of  the  Hebrews  ;  and  also  here 

V.  9.  A  vine  was  before  me.  The  cultivation  of  the  vine  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  has  been 
denied.  But  it  is  abundantly  attested  by  the  sculptures  on  the  ancient  monuments,  where  all 
its  various  processes  are  minutely  represented.* 

V.  10.  It  was  budding,  etc. ;  was  in  the  act  of  budding  (began  to  put  forth  buds),  and  forth- 
with its  blossom  sprang  up  (it  blossomed), and  its  clusters  became  ripened  grapes;  all  passing, 
almost  at  once,  before  his  eyes. 

V.  11.  Pressed  them  into  Pharaoh's  cup,  etc.  This  was  a  part  of  the  dream,  and  necessary 
to  its  coherency ;  and  we  are  not  to  infer  from  it  the  nature  of  the  drink  presented  to  Pharaoh, 
any  more  than  we  infer,  from  the  preceding  statement,  that  in  Egypt  the  budding,  flowering,  and 
ripening  of  the  grape,  were  nearly  simultaneous.! 

V.  13.  To  lift  up  the  head  of  one,  means  to  raise  him  from  a  state  of  humiliation  and  dishonor 
(2  Kings  25  :  27,  28;  Psalm  3:3);  as,  on  the  contrary,  to  "hang  down  the  head"  (Lam.  2  :  10), 
or  "  bow  down  the  head"  (Isaiah  58  :  5)  is  a  sign  of  humiliation  and  abasement. 

V.  14.  By  thyself ;  when  alone,  and  thoughts  of  the  past  and  present  should  bring  me  to 
mind. 

V.  15.  I  was  verily  stolen.  See  the  remark  on  ch.  37  :  28,  fourth  paragraph  and  second 
foot-note. 

Land  of  the  Hebrews.    Abraham's  descendants  had  long  been  known  in  Canaan  as  Hebrews 

*  See  Wilkinson's  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  first  series,  vol.  ii.,  pp. 
142-152.  "Some  have  pretended  to  doubt  that  the  vine  was  commonly  cultivated,  or  even 
grown  in  Egypt;  but  the  frequent  notice  of  it,  and  of  Egyptian  wine,  in  the  sculptures,  and 
the  authority  of  ancient  writers,  sufficiently  answer  these  objections." — Page  152. 

"  In  the  neighborhood  of  Memphis,  at  Thebes,  and  the  places  between  these  two  cities, 
as  well  as  at  Eileithyas,  they  cultivated  the  vine.  .  .  .  Most  of  the  other  vineyards  were  at 
Marea,  and  in  places  similarly  situated  near  the  edge  of  the  desert,  where  the  light  soil  was 
better  suited  to  them;  though  grapes  for  the  table  were  produced  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
Wine  was  universally  used  by  the  rich  throughout  Egypt.''— Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson,  note  to 
Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  book  ii.,  ch.  77. 

t  The  Egyptian  kings,  according  to  ancient  writers  and  the  sculptures  on  Egyptian  monu- 
ments, were  allowed  the  use  of  wine,  but  only  in  a  moderate  quantity  prescribed  by  the  sacred 
books  (Diodorus  Siculus,  i.,  70;  Hecatasus,  in  Plutarch  On  Isis  and  Osiris,  G).  But  customs 
differed  under  the  different  dynasties,  domestic  and  foreign. 

166 


GENESIS.  Ch.it.  xl. 


I  have   done  nothing,  for  which  they  should  put  me  into 
the  dungeon. 

16  And  the  chief  of  the  bakers  saw  t^at  the  interpretation 
was  good.  And  he  said  to  Joseph  :  As  for  me  also,  in 
my  dream,  behold,  three  baskets  of  white  bread  were  on 

17  my  head.  And  in  the  uppermost  basket  were  all  kinds 
of  food  for  Pharaoh,  work  of  the  baker  ;  and  the  birds  ate 
them  out  of  the  basket,  off  from  my  head. 

18  And  Joseph  answered  and  said  :  This  is  its  interpreta- 

19  tion.  The  three  baskets  are  three  days.  Within  three 
days  will  Pharaoh  lift  up  thy  head  from  thee,  and  will 
hang  thee  on  a  tree  ;  and  tke  birds  will  eat  thy  flesh  off 
from  thee. 

20  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  third  day,  Pharaoh's  birth- 
day, that  he  made  a  feast  for  all  his  servants.  And  he 
lifted  up  the  head  of  the  chief  of  the  butlers,  and  of  the 

21  chief  of  the  bakers,  among  his  servants.  And  he  restored 
the  chief  of  the  butlers  to  his  butlership.  and  he  gave  the 

22  cup  into  Pharaoh's  hand  ;  and  the  chief  of  the  bakers  he 
hanged,  as  Joseph  interpreted  to  them. 

23  And  the  chief  of  the  butlers  remembered  not  Joseph, 
and  forgot  him. 


(ch.  14  :  13,  note) ;  and  in  speaking  of  them,  the  country  where  they  had  60  long  resided  would 
naturally  be  called  their  land. 

V.  16.     As  for  vie  also;  implying  that  his  dream  was  similar,  and  of  like  import. 

Three  baskets  of 'white  bread,  icere  on  my  head.  This  menial  service  did  not  pertain  to  bia 
high  office.  The  dream  shaped  itself  in  accordance  with  the  intended  interpretation.  See  v.  5, 
and  note. 

White  bread;  of  the  finest  and  purest  material,  in  distinction  from  that  of  a  coarser  quality. 

Onmy  head  ;  as  represented  in  sculptures  on  the  ancient  monuments.* 

V.  19.     Will  hang  thee  on  a  tree.    Compare  Dent.  21  :  22  ;  Josh.  10  :  20:  2  Sam.  4  :  12.f 

V.  20.  Pharaoh's  birthday.  The  king's  birthday  was  celebrated  with  great  pomp  and 
festivity.:): 

Re  lifted  up,  etc.  He  lifted  up  the  heads  of  both  ;  but  in  different  ways,  as  related  in  the  two 
following  verses. 

*  Wilkinson  (as  above),  vol.  ii.,  p.  151,  plate  130,  and  p.  3S5,  plate  27".  "The  men  [of 
Egypt]  carry  burdens  on  their  heads,  the  women  carry  them  on  their  shoulders."— Herodotua, 
book  ii.,  ch.  3.3. 

t  "  Beheading  (which,  among  the  Jews,  did  not  become  one  of  the  four  legal  death-penalties 
till  after  the  Exile)  was  practiced  in  Egypt;  and  the  hanging  of  the  dead  body  was  a  custom- 
ary aggravation  of  the  death-penalty  in  all  ancient  nations." — Delilzsch,  Conunentar  vber  di* 
Genesis,  3te  Ausg.,  p.  543. 

t  As  is  shown  in  the  Priests'  decree,  inscribed  on  the  Rosetta  stone,  lines  46  and  47  of  tho 
Greek  copy. 

167 


Chap.  xli.  GENESIS. 


1  And  it  came  to  pass,  at  the  end  of  two  full  years,  that 
Pharaoh  dreamed^  and  behold,  he  was  standing  by  the 
river. 

2  And  behold,  there  came  up  from  the  river  seven  heifers, 
fair-looking  and  fat  in  flesh  ;  and  they  fed  on  the  marsh- 

3  grass.  And  behold  seven  other  heifers  came  up  after  them 
from  the  river,  ill-looking  and  thin  in  flesh ;  and  they 
stood  by  the  side  of  those  heifers,  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 

4  And  the  heifers  that  were  ill-looking  and  thin  in  flesh 
devoured  the  seven  heifers  that  were  fair-looking  and  fat. 
And  Pharaoh  awoke. 

5  And  he  slept,  and  dreamed  a  second  time  ;  and  behold, 

6  seven  ears  came  up  on  one  stalk,  plump  and  good.  And 
behold,    seven  ears,    thin   and   blasted   by    the    east   wind, 

7  sprang  up  after  them.  And  the  thin  ears  consumed  the 
seven  plump  and  full  ears.  And  Pharaoh  awoke  ;  and 
behold,  it  was  a  dream. 

8  And  it  came  to  pass,  in  the  morning,  that  his  spirit  was 
troubled.  And  he  sent  and  called  for  all  the  scribes  of 
Egypt,    and   all   its   wise   men.      And   Pharaoh   related  to 

,       V.  1.     Or,  two  years  of  days 

Ch.  41.  Joseph  interprets  Pharaoh's  dreams,  and  is  made  ruler  over  the  land  of  Egypt.  The 
seven  years  of  plenty,  and  the  seven  years  of  famine. 

V.  1  (margin).     Two  years  of  days.     Compare  ch.  29  :  14,  and  note.* 

The  river.  The  Nile  of  course  is  meant  here.  The  word  in  the  Hebrew  text  is  an  Egyptian 
word  meaning  river,  and  in  the  Pentateuch  is  used  only  of  the  Nile. 

V.  2.  Heifers  ;  as  the  Hebrew  word  is  properly  rendered,  in  the  common  English  version,  in 
Num.  19  :  2,  5,  6,  9;  Hos.  4  :  16.  Young  and  vigorous  animals  are  chosen,  as  representatives 
of  their  kind.    Compare  the  remarks  on  v.  5,  second  and  third  paragraphs. 

Marsh-grass ;  herbage  growing  in  wet  grounds,  as  ou  the  margin  of  a  river.  Compare  Job 
8  :  11,  "  Will  the  marsh-grass  grow  without  water?" 

V.  5.  Seven  ears;  namely  of  wheat,  the  noblest  and  most  important  of  the  vegetable 
products  of  Egypt. 

On  one  stalk.  A  kind  of  wheat  is  still  grown  in  Egypt,  having  several  ears  on  one  stalk. 
Seven  on  a  single  stalk  was  an  indication  of  extraordinary  fertility. 

It  seems  intended,  in  these  two  dreams,  to  represent  the  most  valuable  and  necessary  of  the 
products  of  the  country,  in  one  of  the  animal,  in  the  other  of  the  vegetable  kingdom. 

V.  8.  Scribes ;  men  skilled  in  the  sacred  sciences,  and  in  expounding  the  sacred  writings 
and  usages,  and  in  the  interpretation  of  dreams.  They  were  also  skilled  in  magic  arts  (Ex. 
7  :  11,  22,  8  :  7,  18,  properly,  "  the  scribes  did  so"). 

*  "  The  word  days  ...  is  possibly  used  to  distinguish  the  ordinary  year  from  a  greater 
period,  the  year  of  days  from  the  year  of  years." — Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Joseph,  eighth 
paragraph,  foot-note. 

168 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xli. 


them  his  dream.      And  there  was  no  one  that  interpreted 
them  to  Pharaoh. 
9       And  the  chief  of  the  butlers  spoke  to  Pharaoh,  saying : 

10  I  remember  my  faults  this  day.  Pharaoh  was  wroth 
against  his  servants  ;  and  he  put  me  in  ward  in  the  house 
of  the   captain  of  the  life-guard,  me  and  the  chief  of  the 

11  bakers.  And  we  dreamed  a  dream  in  one  night,  I  and 
he  ;  we  dreamed,   each  according  to   the   interpretation  of 

12  his  dream.  And  there  was  with  us  a  Hebrew  young  man, 
servant  to  the  captain  of  the  life-guard  ;  and  we  related 
them  to  him,  and  he  interpreted  to  us  our  dreams  ;  accord- 

13  ing  to  each  one's  dream  did  he  interpret.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  that  as  he  interpreted  to  us,  so  it  was  ;  me  he 
restored  to  my  place,  and  him  he  hanged. 

14  And  Pharaoh  sent  and  called  Joseph,  and  they  brought 
him  hastily  out  of  the  dungeon.  And  he  shaved  himself, 
and  changed  his  garments,  and  came  in  to  Pharaoh. 

15  And  Pharaoh  said  to  Joseph  :  I  have  dreamed  a  dream, 
and  there  is  no  one  that  interprets  if.  And  I  have  heard 
it  said  of  thee,  that  thou  understandest  a  dream,  to  inter- 

16  pret  it.  And  Joseph  answered  Pharaoh,  saying  :  It  is  not 
for  me  ;  God  will  give  Pharaoh  an  answer  of  peace. 

17  And   Pharaoh   said   to  Joseph  :  In  my  dream,  behold,  I 

18  was  standing  on  the  bank  of  the  river.     And  behold,  there 

V.  9.  My  faults ;  meaning  his  offense  against  the  king  (cli.  40  :  1),  and  with  it  his  ungrateful 
forgetfuluess  of  Joseph,  to  whom  lie  owed  the  first  intimation  of  returning  royal  favor. 

V.  11.     According  to,  etc.    See  the  remark  on  ch.  40  :  5. 

V.  12.     According  to  each  one's  dream ;  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  each  dream. 

V.  14.  As  an  object  now  of  the  royal  interest  and  attention,  he  is  released  in  all  haste  from 
confinement,  and  then  prepares  himself  for  admission  to  the  presence  of  the  kimr. 

Shaved  himself ;  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Egyptians,  who  allowed  the  hair  and  beard 
to  grow  only  when  in  mourning,  as  attested  by  ancient  writers,*  and  the  sculptures  on  Egyptian 
monuments.f 

V.  10.     It  is  not  for  vie.    Ascribe  it  not  to  me  ;  it  belongs  to  God  alone. 

VV.  17-24.  The  king's  relation  of  his  dreams  is  naturally  more  animated,  and  more  pointed  in 
some  of  its  expressions,  than  the  calm  historical  statement  of  the  narrator  in  vv.  1-7.  See,  for 
example,  vv.  19,  21,  and  23. 

*  Herodotus,  ii.,  3(3. 

t  "  Though  foreigners,  who  were  brought  to  Egypt  as  slaves,  had  beards  on  their  arrival  in 
the  country,  we  find  that  so  soon  as  they  were  employed  in  the  service  of  this  civilized  people, 
they  were  obliged  to  conform  to  the  cleanly  habits  of  their  masters;  their  beards  and  heads 
were  shaved,  and  they  adopted  a  close  cap." — Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  AncUnt 
tians,  vol',  iii.,  p.  358. 

169 


Chap.  xli.  GENESIS. 


came  up  from  the  river  seven  heifers,  fat  in  flesh,  and  fair- 

19  formed  ;  and  they  fed  on  the  marsh-grass.  And  behold, 
seven  other  heifers  came  up  after  them,  poor  and  very  ill- 
formed  and  lean  in  flesh  ;  I  have  not  seen  such  as  they  in 

20  all  the  land  of  Egypt  for  vileness.     And  the  lean  and  ill— 

21  looking  heifers  devoured  the  first  seven  fat  heifers.  And 
they  went  into  them  ;  and  it  could  not  be  known  that 
they  went  into  them,  and  they  were  ill-looking  as  at  the 
beginning.     And  I  awoke. 

22  And  I  saw  in  my  dream,  and   behold,  seven   ears   came 

23  up  on  one  stalk,  full  and  good.  And  behold,  seven  ears, 
withered,  thin,  blasted  by  the   east -wind,  sprang  up  after 

24  them.  And  the  thin  ears  consumed  the  seven  good  ears. 
And  I  told  it  to  the  scribes  ;  and  there  was  none  that 
made  it  known  to  me. 

25  And  Joseph  said  to  Pharaoh  :  The  dream  of  Pharaoh, 
it  is  one.  What  God  is"  about  to  do  he  has  showed  to 
Pharaoh. 

26  The  seven  good  heifers,  they  are  seven  years  ;  and  the 
seven   good   ears,  they  are  seven  years.     The  dream,  it  is 

27  one.  And  the  seven  lean  and  ill-looking  heifers  that  came 
up  after  them,  they  are  seven  years  ;  and  the  seven  ears, 
empty,  blasted  by  the  east  wind,  will  be  seven  years  of 
famine. 

28  This  is  the  thing  which  I  have  spoken  to  Pharaoh ; 
what  God  is  about  to  do,  he  has   caused  Pharaoh  to  see. 

29  Behold,  there  are  coming  seven  years  of  great  plenty  in  all 
80  the  land  of  Egypt.     And  there  will  arise  after  them  seven 

years  of  famine  ;  and  all  the  plenty  will  be  forgotten  in  the 

31  land  of  Egypt,  and  the  famine  will  consume  the  land.  And 
the  plenty  will  not  be  known  in  the  land,  on  account  of 
that  famine  afterward  ;  for  it  will  be  very  grievous. 

32  And  as  the  dream  was  twice  repeated  to  Pharaoh,  it  is 


V.  24.    Made  it  known  to  me;  made  me  understand  it,  by  unfolding  its  meaning. 
V.  25.     Is  one  ;  in  design  and  import. 

V.  28.     Which  I  have  spoken  to  Pharaoh;  referring  to  what  he  has  said  in  v.  25. 
V.  32.    The  repetition  of  a  dream  wa3  accounted  an  assurance  of  the  certainty  of  what  it 
portended,  and  of  its  speedy  fulfillment. 

no 


GENESIS.  Ohap.  xli. 


because  the  thing  is  established  by  God,  and  God  hastens 
to  do  it. 

33  Now  therefore,  let  Pharaoh  look   out   a  man  discerning 

34  and  wise,  and  set  him  over  the  land  of  Egypt.  Let 
Pharaoh  cause  that  he  appoint  officers  over  the  land  ;  and 

.let   him  take   the  fifth   part  of  the   land  of  Egypt  in  the 

36  seven  years  of  plenty.      And  let  them  gather  all  the  food 

of  these   good   years  that   are   coming,   and  lay   up   grain 

under   the   hand   of  Pharaoh  for   food   in   the    cities,  and 

36  keep  it.  And  the  food  shall  be  for  store  for  the  land,  for 
the  seven  years  of  famine  which  shall  be  in  the  land  of 
Egypt  ;  that  the  land  perish  not  in  the  famine. 

37  And  the  thing  was  good  in  the  eyes  of  Pharaoh,  and  in 

38  the  eyes  of  all  his  servants.  And  Pharaoh  said  to  his 
servants  :  Can  we  find  such  a  one  as  this,  a  man  in  whom 
is  the  spirit  of  God  ? 

39  And  Pharaoh  said  to  Joseph  :  Since  God  has  made  all 
this  known  to  thee,  there  is  no  one  so  discerning  and  wise 

40  as  thou  art.  Thou  shalt  be  over  my  house,  and  to  thee 
shall  all  my  people  do  homage  ;  only  as  to  the  throne  will 
I  be  greater  than  thou. 

41  And  Pharaoh  said  to  Joseph  :  See,  I  have  set  thee  over 

42  all  the  land  of  Egypt.  And  Pharaoh  took  off  his  signet- 
ring   from   his   hand,    and    put    it    on   Joseph's   hand,    and 

V.  34.  The  fifth  part  of  the  land  ;  the  fifth  of  its  annual  produce,  to  be  taken  as  a  tax  for  the 
government. 

V.  35.  In  the  cities  ;  as  centres  of  accumulation  and  distribution  for  the  surrounding  rural 
districts.     Compare  v.  48. 

The  expressions  used  in  this  and  the  following  verse,  and  in  v.  43,  imply  that  all  the  grain 
produced  was  stored  in  the  cities,  "under  the  hand  of  Pharaoh,"  that  is,  tinder  lis  control. 
This  may  have  been  done  to  prevent  the  exportation  of  grain  from  the  country,  dnring  the 
years  of  plenty,  in  order  to  secure  a  sufficient  supply  for  the  years  of  famine.  The  appoint* 
ment  of  a  special  regent  "over  the  land  of  Egypt"  (v.  33),  and  of  his  subordinate  "  officers 
over  the  land"  (v.  34),  for  this  special  emergency,  and  Joseph's  nii>siun  "  through  all  I  he  land  of 
Egypt"  (v.  4G),  imply  the  exercise  of  extraordinary  functions  conferred  for  a  special  purpose. 

V.  3".     His  servants.     Those  are  meant  who  are  more  particularly  mentioned  in  ch. 

V.  39.  Since  God  has  made  all  this  known  to  thee;  taken  as  an  evidence  of  the  spirit  of 
wisdom  and  discernment  with  which  God  would  continue  to  endow  him. 

V.  40.  To  thee  shall  all  my  people  do  homage ;  shall  acknowledge  thee  as  the  representative 
of  sovereign  power. 

Only  as  to  the  throne,  etc.  Only  the  occupancy  of  the  throne,  the  rccjal  state,  shall  <li>tin- 
guir-h  between  us.     In  authority  and  power,  thou  shalt  be  my  representative  and  equal. 

V.  42.  Put  it  (the  signet-ring)  on  Joseph's  hand  ;  the  customary  token,  by  which  a  monarch 
conferred  his  own  authority  on  another.    Compare  Esther  3  :  10,  11. 

1T1 


Chap.  xu.  GENESIS. 


clothed  him  in  vestures  of  fine  linen,  and  put  the  chain  of 

43  gold  on  his  neck  ;  and  he  made  him  ride  in  the  second 
chariot  which  he  had  ;  and  they  cried  before  him  :  Bow 
the   knee  ;  and    he    set   him    over   all  the    land   of  Egypt. 

44  And  Pharaoh  said  to  Joseph  :  I  am  Pharaoh,  and  without 
thee  shall  no  man  lift  his  hand  or  his  foot  in  all  the  land 
of  Egypt. 

45  And  Pharaoh  called  Joseph's  name  Zaphnath-paaneah. 
And  he  gave  him  for  a  wife  Asenath,  daughter  of  Poti- 
pherah  priest  of  On.  And  Joseph  went  out  over  the  land 
of  Egypt. 

46  And  Joseph  was  thirty  years  old  when  he  stood  before 
Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt.  And  Joseph  went  out  from  the 
presence  of  Pharaoh,  and  passed  through  all  the  land  of 
Egypt. 

47  And   in   the    seven  years   of  plenty,  the   earth   brought 

48  forth  by  handfulls.  And  he  gathered  all  the  food  of  the 
seven  years  which  were  in  the  land  of  Egypt  ;  and  he  put 

Fine  linen;  worn  by  tbe  highest  class  in  the  realm. 

Put  the  chain  of  gold  on  his  neck.  This  was  a  part  of  the  ceremony  of  investiture  in  office,  aa 
represented  in  ancient  Egyptian  sculptures.* 

The  chain;  with  the  definite  article,  as  being  one  of  the  customary  insignia  of  office. 

V.  43.  After  being  thus  invested  with  the  insignia  of  vice-regent,  he  is  assigned  the  royal 
chariot  next  to  that  of  the  king,  and  all  are  required  to  bow  the  knee  before  him. 

V.  44.  I  am  Pharaoh;  my  will  is  law,  and  no  one  in  my  kingdom  shall  do  aught  without 
permission  from  thee.f 

V.  4o.  Joseph  receives  from  the  king  an  Egyptian  name  (Zaphnath-paaneah, :t  meaning  Pre- 
server of  life),  expressive  of  the  service  he  had  rendered  by  pointing  out  the  peril  which 
threatened  the  country,  and  the  means  of  averting  it. 

On;  an  ancient  city  of  Egypt,  about  twenty  miles  northeast  of  Memphis.  It  is  known  in 
general  history  by  its  Greek  name  Heliopolis  (meaning  city  of  the  sun),  corresponding  to  its 
sacred  Egyptian  name  Ha-Ra,  meaning  abode  of  the  sun,  that  being  the  principal  object  of 
■worship  in  the  city. 

The  order  of  priests  was  the  highest  class  in  the  realm.  The  king  was  always  either  of  this 
or  of  the  military  class  ;  and  if  of  the  latter,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  be  initiated  into 
the  former. 

V.  46.  Stood  before  Pliaraoh  ;  as  his  servant  and  minister  of  state.  Compare  Dent  1  :  38  ; 
1  Kings  10  :  8;  Dan.  1  :  5. 

V.  47.  By  handfulls ;  a  proverbial  expression  implying  abundance,  filling  the  hand,  in  con- 
trast with  a  meagre  and  stinted  supply. 

V.  48.  The  seven  years  which  were  in  the  land.  The  expression  is  peculiar.  The  obvious 
meaning  is,  the  seven  years  of  plenty,  as  indicated  by  the  word  "  food." 

*  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii.  (second  series),  p.  293, 
and  plate  80. 

t  The  explanation,— I  am  Pharaoh,  that  I  reserve  to  myself  (Knobel,  Belitzsch,  Keil),  is  a 
Bingular  misapprehension  of  the  very  obvious  meaning  of  the  expression. 

%  Compare  the  article  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary. 

112 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xli. 


food  in  the  cities  ;  the  food  of  the  field,  which  was  around 
the  city,  he  put  within  it.  And  Joseph  laid  up  grain  as 
the  sand  of  the  sea,  exceedingly  abundant,  until  he  left  off 
numbering  ;  for  it  was  without  number. 

And  to  Joseph  were  born  two  sons,  before  the  year  of 
famine  came,  whom  Asenath,  daughter  of  Poti-pherah 
priest  of  On,  bore  to  him.  And  Joseph  called  the  name 
of  the  first-born  Manasseh ;  for  God  has  made  me  forget  all 
my  trouble,  and  all  my  father's  house.  And  the  name  of 
the  second  he  called  Ephraim  ;  for  God  has  made  me 
fruitful  in  the  land  of  my  affliction. 

And  the  seven  years  of  plenty,  that  was  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  were  ended.  And  the  seven  }^ears  of  famine  began 
to  come,  according  as  Joseph  said.  And  the  famine  was 
in  all  lands  ;  but  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt  there  was  bread. 

And  all  the  land  of  Egypt  was  famished  ;  and  the  people' 
cried  to  Pharaoh  for  bread.  And  Pharaoh  said  to  all  the 
Egyptians  :  Go  to  Joseph  ;  what  he  says  to  }~ou,  do. 

And  the  famine  was  over  all  the  face  of  the  earth.  And 
Joseph  opened  all  the  storehouses,  and  sold  grain  to  the 
Egyptians  ;  and  the  famine  was  severe  in  the  land  of 
Egypt.  And  all  countries  came  into  Egypt,  to  Joseph,  to 
buy  grain  ;  for  the  famine  was  severe  in  all  the  earth. 


Cities.  Compare  the  note  on  ch.  4:17.  A  city,  so  called,  often  answered  to  our  village  ;  a 
small  settlement,  where  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  congregated  for  mutual  convenience  and 
security.  This  accounts  for  the  large  number  of  cities  said  to  have  been  in  ancient  Egypt, 
which  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  exaggerated. 

V.  49.  Left  of  numbering.  In  sculptures  on  the  ancient  Egyptian  monuments,  scribes  are 
represented  entering  in  their  written  tablets  the  number  of  measures  given  and  delii  -  I 

V.  50.  The  year  of  famine ;  namely,  the  commencement  of  the  period  of  seven  years' 
famine. 

VV.  51,52.  Manasseh;  meaning,  who  makes  forget.  My  father's  house ;  he  means  the 
longing  for  it,  which  has  now  given  place  to  the  cares  and  enjoyments  of  his  own  home. 
Ephraim;  meaning,  double  fruitf'ulness. 

VV.  55,  5G.     The  transactions  here  referred  to  are  more  fully  narrated  in  ch.  17  :  13  20. 

Was  famished  ;  alter  consuming,  from  year  to  year,  its  portion  of  the  yearly  produce,  and  of 
the  surplus  deposited  in  the  cities  (vv.  35,  36j  and  note). 


The  Pharaoh  of  this  and  the  following  chapters  seems  to  have  been  of  the  same  race  of  kings 
as  ruled  in  the  time  of  Abraham.     See  the  remarks  on  ch.  12  :  15.    This  accounts  for  1 
shown  by  the  reigning  monarch  to  foreigners  in  the  persons  of  Joseph  and  his  family:  and  f-.r 
the  absolute  power  of  this  prince,  and  his  arbitrary  use  of  it,  in  marked  contrast  with 
eminent  of  the  native  kings,  as  regulated  by  the  laws  and  traditional  usages  of  the  country. 

*  Wilkinson  (as  above),  second  series,  vol.  i.,  pp.  S6  and  91. 

173 


Chap.  xlii.  GENESIS. 


And  Jacob  saw  that  there  was  grain  in  Egypt ;  and 
Jacob  said  to  his  sons  :  Why  do  ye  look  one  upon 
another  ?  And  he  said  :  Behold,  I  have  heard  that  there 
is  grain  in  Egypt.  Go  down  thither,  and  buy  grain  for  us 
from  thence  ;  that  we  may  live,  and  not  die. 

And  Joseph's  ten  brothers  went  down  to  buy  grain  from 
Egypt.  And  Benjamin,  Joseph's  brother,  Jacob  sent  not 
with  his  brothers  ;  for  he  said  :  Lest  harm  befall  him. 

And  the  sons  of  Israel  came  to  buy  grain  among  those 
that  came  ;  for  the  famine  was  in  the  land  of  Canaan. 

And  Joseph,  he  was  the  ruler  over  the  land  ;  and  he  it 
was  that  sold  grain  to  all  the  people  of  the  land.  And 
Joseph's  brothers  came,  and  bowed  down  to  him,  with 
their  faces  to  the  earth. 

And  Joseph  saw  his  brothers,  and  knew  them;  and  he 
made  himself  strange  to  them,  and  spoke  with  them 
roughly.  And  he  said  to  them  :  Whence  are  ye  come  ? 
And  they  said  :  From  the  land  of  Canaan,  to  buy  grain 
for  food. 


Ch.  42.    Ten  of  Jacob's  sons  are  sent  by  him  to  Egypt  to  buy  food  for  the  household. 

The  narrative  now  returns  to  the  humble  shepherds  on  the  plains  of  Canaan.  Twenty  years 
have  passed  away.*  The  shepherd  boy.  who  was  sold  into  slavery,  falsely  accused  and  im- 
prisoned, has  been  raised  to  a  seat  next  the  throne,  and  made  ruler  of  the  most  powerful  and 
enlightened  people  of  the  ancient  world.  All  this  wonderful  change  in  his  fortunes  has  been 
•wrought  by  means  perfectly  simple  and  intelligible,— the  exhibition  of  divinely  given  endow- 
ments, fitting  him  above  all  others  for  the  duties  of  his  exalted  station. 

The  narrator  deals  with  both  phases  of  this  wonderful  story  with  simple  earnestness,  and 
freedom  from  all  effort  for  effect,  as  of  one  whose  only  concern  is  to  record  the  facts. 

V.  5.     Israel    See  ch.  32  :  2?. 

Among  those  that  came  ;  many  joining  together,  and  forming  a  large  caravan  for  mutual  aid 
and  protection. 

V.  G.  He  it  was  that  sold  ;  through  his  subordinate  officers,  he  having  the  direction  of  all.  In 
this  case,  for  his  own  special  purpose,  he  requires  the  applicants  for  food  to  appear  before 
himself. 

V.  7.  Spoke  with  them  roughly.  The  evident  design  of  Joseph,  in  his  treatment  of  his  brothers, 
was  to  bring  them  to  a  just  sense  of  their  guilt.  For  this  purpose,  he  put  thern  through  a  pro- 
cess that  certainly  ought  to  have  been  effectual,  and  probably  was.  At  the  same  time,  his 
tender  regard  for  them  is  repeatedly  shown,  both  in  vain  efforts  to  restrain  the  expression  of  it 
(v.  24;  ch.  45  :  1),  and  in  acts  of  forbearance  and  kindness  (v.  19;  ch.  43  :  1G).     It  has  been 

*  Joseph  was  thirty  years  old  when  he  stood  before  Pharaoh  (ch.  41  :  4G),  and  the  seven 
years  of  plenty  are  ended  and  the  years  of  famine  have  commenced  (ch.  41  :  53,  54).  Aa 
Joseph  was  seventeen  years  of  age  when  he  was  sold  into  Egypt  (ch.  37  :  2),  at  least  twenty 
years  must  have  passed  away;  and  not  much  more,  if  we  suppose  the  years  of  plenty  to  have 
commenced  soon  after  his  elevation,  which  is  the  natural  construction  of  the  narrative. 

174 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xltj. 


8  And    Joseph    knew    his    brothers  ;  and   the}'    knew   not 

9  him.  And  Joseph  remembered  the  dreams  which  he 
dreamed  of  them.  And  he  said  to  them  :  Ye  are  spies  ; 
to  see  the  nakedness  of  the  land  are  ye  come. 

10  And  they  said  to  him  :  Nay,  my  lord  ;  for  thy  servants 

11  have  come  to  bny  grain  for  food.  We  are  all  sons  of  one 
man.     We  are  true  men  ;  thy  servants  are  not  spies. 

12  And  he  said  to  them  :  Nay  ;  for  ye  have  come  to  see 
the  nakedness  of  the  land. 

13  And  they  said  :  Thy  servants  are  twelve  ;  we  are 
brothers,  sons  of  one  man  in  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  and 
behold,  the  youngest  is  this  day  with  our  father  ;  and  one 
is  not. 

14  And  Joseph  said  to  them  :  This  is  what  I  spoke  to  you, 

15  saying  :  Ye  are  spies.  By  this  ye  shall  be  tested.  By 
the    life    of  Pharaoh,   ye    shall   not  go   out   hence,  except 

16  when  your  youngest  brother  comes  hither.  Send  one  of 
you,  and  let  him  fetch  }rour  brother,  and  be  ye  bound, 
that  your  words  may  be  tested,  whether  there  is  truth 
with  you ;  and  if  not,  by  the  life  of  Pharaoh,  ye  are 
surely  spies. 

thought  strange  that.he  should  have  caused  his  father,  and  his  own  innocent  brother,  so  much 
pain.    But  this  was  unavoidably  incident  to  his  main  purpose,  which  was  just  and  laudable. 

V.  0.  Bemernbered,  etc.  Their  presence,  and  their  prostration  before  him  (v.  G),  called  his 
dreams  to  mind.    No  more  than  this  seems  to  be  intended. 

Xakedrtess  of the  land ;  its  destitute  and  exposed  condition,  or  the  exposed  and  undefended 
parts  of  it.* 

V.  11.  All  sons  of  one  man ;  and  hence  not  likely  to  be  engaged  in  a  perilous  service,  expos- 
ing the  whole  family  to  destruction. 

V.  13.  Thy  servants  are  twelve  ;  there  are  twelve  of  us  in  all,  two  being  absent,  as  accounted 
for  in  the  following  clause.  These  statements,  as  we  learn  from  ch.  43  :  7,  were  partly  made  in 
answer  to  the  close  questioning  of  Joseph. 

VV.  1 1-1 T.  Their  statements,  if  accepted  as  true,  seem  to  make  their  case  very  clear.  But 
Joseph  retorts,  that  these  pretenses  only  betray  their  character  as  spies;  and  demands  that 
their  statements  be  proved  true,  as  the  only  refutation  of  the  ch 

By  the  life  of  Pharaoh.  A  customary  form  of  asseveration,  suited  to  his  assumed  character 
as  an  Egyptian. t 

*  "  The  charge  suits  well  with  the  highest  c fficcr  of  state  under  the  Hyksos  [ch.  12  :  15,  note, 
second  paragraph].    For  these,  according  to  Manetho,  were  In  constant  dread  i  I  attacks  from 
tlie  then  powerful  Assyrians.     .    .    .    Those  who  came  from  Asia  might  well  be  1 
Assyrian  spies,  especially  the  sons  of  Jacob,  who,  from  their  Chaldscan  origin,  bore  a  resem- 
blance to  the  eastern  Semites."— Rnobel,  die  Genesis  erkliirf,  p.  321. 

f  "  How  truly  has  the  narrator  represented  the  constraint  which  Joseph  puts  upon  himself,  in 
dealing  so  harshly,  and  concealing  their  common  faith  in  the  One  God  under  the  oath  by  the 
life  of  Tharaoh  !"— Delilzsch,  Kommeniar  uber  die  Genesis,  p.  549. 

175 


Chap.  xlii.  GENESIS. 


17  And  he  put  them  all  together  in  ward,  three  days. 

18  And  Joseph  said  to   them,  on   the   third   day  :  This  do 

19  and  live.  I  am  one  that  fears  God.  If  ye  are  true  men, 
let  one  of  your  brothers  be  bound  in  your  prison-house  ; 
and  do  ye  go,  carry  grain  for  the  famine  of  your  houses. 

20  And  bring  your  youngest  brother  to  me,  and  your  words 
shall  be  found  true,  and  ye  shall  not  die.  And  they 
did  so. 

21  And  they  said  one  to  another  :  We  are  verily  guilty 
concerning  our  brother,  whose  anguish  of  soul  we  saw, 
when   he   besought  us,   and  would  not  hear  ;  therefore  is 

22  this  anguish  come  upon  us.  And  Reuben  answered  them, 
saying  :  Did  not  I  speak  to  you,  saying :  Do  not  sin 
against  the  child,  and  ye  would  not  hear  ?  And  also  his 
blood,  behold,  is  required. 

23  And  they  knew  not  that  Joseph  heard  ;  for  the  inter- 
preter was  between  them. 

24  And  he  turned  about  from  them,  and  wept.  And  he 
returned  to  them,  and  talked  to  them  ;  and  he  took  from 
them  Simeon,  and  bound  him  before  their  eyes. 

25  And  Joseph  commanded  that  they  should  fill  their  ves- 
sels with  grain  ;  and  to  return  their  money  into  each  one's 
sack,  and  to  give  them  provision  for  the  way.  And  thus 
he  did  to  them. 


VV.  18-20.  The  severity  of  his  first  demand  (v.  16)  i3  moderated  by  the  more  lenient  require- 
ment, that  one  should  be  retained  as  a  hostage,  to  insure  the  return  of  the  others. 

And  they  did  so  ;  a  summary  statement  of  what  is  afterward  narrated  in  detail. 

V.  21.     The  object  of  this  severity  is  partially  attained,  in  the  awakened  sense  of  guilt. 

When  he  besought  us.  This  trait  in  the  tragic  scene  here  comes  incidentally  to  light;  and 
the  want  of  any  allusion  to  it,  in  ch.  37  :  23-28,  shows  the  absence  of  all  study  for  effect  in  this 
simple  narration  of  facts. 

V.  22.  And  also  his  blood;  inasmuch  as  they  gave  him  up  to  those  in  whose  hands  they  had 
reason  to  suppose  he  perished.     Is  required.    See  ch.  9  :  5,  note,  fourth  paragraph. 

V.  23.  The  interpreter;  with  the  definite  article,  indicating  one  whose  business  it  was  to  act 
in  that  capacity,  and  appointed  for  it. 

Was  between  them;  as  the  medium  of  communication,  thus  interposing  between  them  and 
Joseph,  and  separating  him  from  their  cognizance. 

V.  24.  Took  from  them  Simeon.  The  selection  was  purposely  and  appropriately  made. 
Compare  ch.  U  :  25,  2(5,  and  ch.  40  :  5-7.  * 

V.  25.  He  did  to  them;  namely,  lie  who  had  charge  of  returning  their  money,  and  giving 
them  provision  for  the  way.  Others  seem  to  be  meant  in  the  first  clause,  "  that  they  should 
fill,"  etc. 

As  a  matter  of  delicacy,  Joseph  could  not  receive  their  money;  but  they  could  regard  its 
restoration  only  as  an  omen  of  evil  (vv.  28,  35). 

176 


GENESIS.  Chat,  xi.n. 


26  And  they  lifted  their  grain  upon  their  asses,  and  went 
from  thence. 

27  And  one  of  them  opened  his  sack  to  give  provender  to 
his   ass   at  the  lodging-place,  and  he  saw  his  money  ;  and 

28  behold,  it  was  in  the  mouth  of  his  bag.  And  he  said  to 
his  brothers  :  My  money  is  returned  ;  yea.  and  behold,  it 
is  in  my  bag.  And  their  heart  went  out ;  and  they  turned 
trembling  one  to  another,  saying  :  What  is  this  that  God 
has  done  to  us  ? 

29  And  they  came  to  Jacob  their  father,  to  the  land  of 
Canaan.     And    they   told   him   all   the   things   that   befell 

30  them,    saying  :  The    man,    the    lord    of   the    land,    spoke 

31  roughly  with  us,  and  took  us  for  spies  of  the  land.  And 
we    said  to   him  :  We    are   true   men  ;  we    are    not    spies. 

32  We  are  twelve  brothers,  sons  of  our  father  ;  one  is  not, 
and  the  youngest  is  this  day  with  our  father  in  the  land 
of  Canaan. 

33  And  the  man,  the  lord  of  the  land,  said  to  us  :  By  this 
I  shall  know  that  ye  are  true  men ;  let  one  of  your 
brothers   remain   with   me,  and   take   what   the    famine   of 

34  your  houses  requires,  and  go.  And  bring  your  youngest 
brother  to  me,  and  I  shall  know  that  ye  are  not  spies, 
that  ye  are  true  men.  Your  brother  I  will  deliver  to  you, 
and  ye  shall  traffic  in  the  land. 

36  And  it  came  to  pass  as  they  emptied  their  sacks,  that, 
behold,  each  ones  bundle  of  money  was  in  his  sack  ;  and 
they  saw  their  bundles  of  money,  they  and  their  father, 
and  they  were  afraid. 

V.  27.  The  lodging-place  ;  as  the  common  English  version  properly  renders  the  Hebrew  word 
in  Josh.  4:3;  Jer.  9:2;  and  similarly  in  Josh.  4  :  8  ;  2  Kings  19  :  23 ;  Isaiah  10  :  29. 

V.  28.  Yea,  and  behold,  it  is  in  my  bag  ;  where  it  must  have  been  placed  purposely,  and  with 
some  secret  design,  by  the  one  charged  with  the  duty  of  filling  their  sacks  with  grain.  Hence 
the  emphatic  reference  to  this  fact,  "yea  and,"  etc.,  and  the  alarm  it  excited. 

Their  heart  went  out.  No  heart  was  left  them.  This  is  the  striking  and  forcible  expression 
of  the  thought  in  the  Hebrew,  and  it  should  be  retained  in  the  version. 

That  God  has  done  to  us.    They  recognize  his  hand  in  its  dealing  with  the  guilty. 

V.  32.  Sons  of  our father ;  of  our  common  father,  being  all  sons  of  one  man,  as  more  fully 
expressed  in  v.  13. 

V.  35.  For  some  reason,  the  money  was  not  discovered  on  the  way,  except  in  one  instance, 
when  it  was  deposited  in  the  mouth  of  a  sack  which  there  was  occasion  to  open.  Compare  the 
remark  on  ch.  43  :  21. 

m  177 


Chap.  xlih.  GENESIS. 


6  And  Jacob  their  father  said  to  them  :  Me  do  ye  be- 
reave ;  Joseph  is  not,  and  Simeon  is  not,  and  Benjamin 
ye  will  take.     On  me  are  all  these  things. 

7  And  Reuben  spoke  to  his  father,  saying  :  My  two  sons 
shalt  thou  slay,  if  I  bring  him  not  to  thee.  Deliver  him 
into  my  hand,  and  I  will  return  him  to  thee. 

18  And  he  said  :  My  son  shall  not  go  down  with  you. 
For  his  brother  is  dead,  and  he  alone  is  left ;  and  if  harm 
befall  him  by  the  way  in  which  ye  go,  ye  will  bring  down 
my  gray  hairs  in  sorrow  to  the  underworld. 

1  And  the  famine  was  grievous  in  the  land. 

2  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  they  had  eaten  up  the  grain 
which  they  brought  from  Egypt,  that  their  father  said  to 
them  :  Return,  buy  us  grain  for  a  little  food. 

3  And  Judah  spoke  to  him,  saying  :  The  man  solemnly 
protested  to  us,  saying  :  Ye  shall  not  see  my  face,  unless 

4  your  brother  be  with  you.  If  thou  wilt  send-  our  brother 
with  us,  we  will   go   down  and  buy  thee   grain  for   food. 

6  But  if  thou  wilt  not  send  him,  we  will  not  go  down.  For 
the  man  said  to  us  :  Ye  shall  not  see  my  face,  unless  your 
brother  be  with  you. 

6  And  Israel  said  :  Wherefore  dealt  ye  so  ill  with  me,  to 
tell  the  man  whether  ye  had  yet  a  brother  ? 

T  And  they  said  :  The  man  strictly  questioned  concerning 
us,  and  concerning  our  kindred,  saying :  Is  your  father  yet 
alive  ?  Have  ye  a  brother  ?  And  we  told  him  according 
to  these  words.  Could  we  surely  know  that  he  would 
say  :  Bring  your  brother  down  ? 

V.  7.     Or,  according  to  these  things 

V.  36.    Me  do  ye  bereave.    It  is  I  that  am  bereft ;  the-stroke  falls  on  me. 

On  me  are  all  these  things.  They  fall  on  me  alone  ;  I  must  bear  them  all.  His  complaint  is 
just  so  far  as  this,  that  he  alone  has  a  father's  grief  to  bear.     In  this  they  have  no  part. 

V.  38.     Underworld.    See  the  remarks  on  ch.  37  :  35,  third  paragraph. 

Ch.  43.    Jacob's  sons  are  sent  the  second  time  to  Egypt  to  buy  grain. 

V.  2.    Return.    See  the  remark  on  v.  13. 

V.  7.    Compare  the  remark  on  ch.  42  :  13. 

According  to  these  words  ;  according  to  the  words  he  used,  word  for  word,  in  answer  to  his 
questions.  According  to  these  things  (margin) ;  namely,  as  these  things  are.  We  gave  him  true 
answers,  in  accordance  with  the  facts. 

118 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xlhl 


8  And  Judah  said  to  Israel  his  father  :  Send  the  lad  with 
me,  and  we  will  arise  and  go  ;  and  we  shall  live,  and  not 

9  die,  both  we,  and  also  thou,  and  also  our  little  ones.  I 
will  be  surety  for  him  ;  of  my  hand  shalt  thou  require 
him.     If  I  do  not  bring  him  to  thee,  and  set  him  before 

10  thee*  then  will  I  be  guilty  to  thee  forever.  For  unless  we 
had  lingered,  surely  now  we  had  returned  this  second 
time. 

11  And  Israel  their  father  said  to  them  :  If  then  it  is  so, 
do  this  ;  take  of  the  boast  of  the  land  in  your  vessels,  and 
carry  down  a  present  for  the  man,  a  little  balsam,  and  a 
little    honey,    tragacanth   and   ladanum,    pistacia-nuts    and 

12  almonds.  And  take  a  second  supply  of  money  in  your 
hand  ;  and  the  money  that  was  returned  in  the  mouth  of 
your  bags  ye   shall  carry  back   in  your  hand ;  perhaps  it 

13  was   an   error.     And  take   your  brother,  and  arise,  return 

14  to  the  man.  And  God  Almighty  grant  you  compassion 
before  the  man,  that  he  may  release  to  you  your  other 
brother,  and  Benjamin.  And  I,  in  case  I  am  bereaved,  I 
am  bereaved  ! 

15  And  the  men  took  that  present ;  and  double  money 
they  took  in  their  hand,  and  Benjamin  ;  and  they  rose 
up,  and  went  down  to  Egypt ;  and  they  stood  before 
Joseph. 

16  And  Joseph  saw  Benjamin  with  them  ;  and  he  said  to 
him   who  was    over   his   house  :  Bring  the  men    into   the 


V.  9.  Guilty  to  thee ;  to  thee  the  injured  party,  so  that  thou  canst  hold  me  guilty,  and 
answerable  for  the  wrong. 

V.  11.  Of  the  boast  oftheland;  of  its  boasted  products,  thoso  in  which  its  people  glory. 
These  substances  were  much  valued  in  Egypt,  some  being  used  in  great  quantities  in  embalming. 

Ladanum,  etc.    Compare  the  note  on  ch.  37  :  25. 

V.  12.    A  second  snpjrfy  of  money  ;  called  "  other  money,"  in  v.  22. 

V.  13.  Return  to  the  man;  they  ha#ng  left  him  with  the  promise  to  return,  of  which  the 
retention  of  Simeon  was  a  pledge.* 

V.  14.  And  1,  etc.  Compare  Esther  4  :  16,  properly,  "  in  case  I  perish,  I  perish  !''  It  is  the 
language  of  hopeless  resignation,  of  one  who  makes  up  his  mind  to  bear  whatever  may  be  the 
issue. 

V.  15.  Double  money ;  both  the  former  purchase-money  that  was  returned,  and  the  second 
supply  spoken  of  in  v.  12. 

*  Not,  as  in  the  common  English  version,  "  go  again;"  in  which  the  point  of  the  expression 
is  lost. 

179 


Chap,  xlhl  GENESIS. 


house  ;  and  slay,  and  make   ready  ;  for  the  men  will  eat 
with  me  at  noon. 

17  And  the  man  did  as  Joseph  said.  And  the  man  brought 
the  men  into  the  house  of  Joseph. 

18  And  the  men  were  afraid,  because  they  were  brought 
into  the  house  of  Joseph.  And  they  said  :  Because  'of  the 
money  that  returned  in  our  bags  at  the  first  are  we 
brought  in  ;  that  he  may  find  occasion  against  us,  and  fall 
upon  us,  and  take  us  for  servants,  and  our  asses. 

19  And  they  came  near  to  the  man  who  was  over  the 
house  of  Joseph  ;  and  they  spoke   to   him   at  the  door  of 

20  the  house.     And  they  said  :  Beseech  thee,  my  lord  !     We 

21  verily  came  down  at  the  first  to  buy  grain  for  food.  And 
it  came  to  pass,  when  we  came  to  the  lodging-place,  and 
opened  our  bags,  that,  behold,  each  one's  money  was  in 
the   mouth   of  his  bag,  our  money  in  its  full  weight ;  and 

22  we  have  brought  it  back  in  our  hand.  And  other  money 
have  we  brought  down  in  our  hands  to  buy  grain  for  food. 
We  know  not  who  put  our  money  in  our  bags. 

23  And  he  said  :  Peace  be  to  you  ;  fear  not.  Your  God, 
and  the  God  of  your  father,  gave  you  hidden  treasure  in 
your  bags.  Your  money  came  to  me.  And  he  brought 
Simeon  out  to  them. 

24  And  the  man  brought  the  men  into  the  house  of  Joseph. 
And  he  gave  water,  that  they  might  wash  their  feet  ;  and 
he  gave  provender  for  their  asses. 

V.  16.  Slay.  The  Egyptians  made  free  use  of  animal  food,  as  is  shown  by  the  testimony  of 
ancient  writers  *  and  by  the  sculptures  on  the  Egyptian  monuments.! 

V.  18.  That  returned  ;  how,  or  by  what  means,  they  knew  not,  and  hence  this  indefinite  form 
of  expression.   Find  occasion  against  us;  as  he  seemed  bent  on  doing  at  the  former  interview. 

V.  20.     We  verily,  etc.    It  was  no  pretense  to  cover  a  criminal  purpose  and  object. 

V.  21.  When  we  came,  etc.  They  make  a  general  statement  of  the  case,  without  entering 
into  the  minute  details,  which  had  no  bearing  on  it.  These  the  narrator  has  stated  in  ch. 
42  :  35.  What  concerned  them  was  the  discovery  of  their  money;  when,  or  where,  was  of  no 
moment,  and  the  first  instance  is  made  the  occasion  for  mentioning  all. 

V.  23.  His  kindly  greeting,  and  quieting  assurances,  are  a  part  of  the  gracious  reception 
which  Joseph  purposed  to  give  them,  when  he  saw  that  Benjamin  was  with  them  (v.  16).  His 
yearning  toward  his  brother,  and  desire  to  manifest  his  regard  for  him,  explain  the  temporary 
change  in  his  treatment  of  tlicm. 

V.  24.    Might  wash  their  feet.    Compare  the  remark  on  ch.  18  :  4. 

*  Herodotus,  ii.,  37  ;  Diodorus  Siculus,  i.,  70. 

t  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  375, 333,  388,  393, 401. 

/  180 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xun. 


25  And  they  made  ready  the  present  against  the  coming 
of  Joseph  at  noon  ;  for  they  heard  that  they  should  eat 
bread  there. 

26  And  Joseph  came  into  the  house  ;  and  they  brought 
him  the  present  which  was  in  their  hand,  into  the  house  ; 
and  they  bowed  down  to  him  to  the  earth. 

27  And  he  asked  them  of  their  welfare,  and  said  :  fe  your 
father  well,  the   old  man  of  whom  ye  spoke  ?      Is  he  yet 

28  alive  ?  And  they  answered  :  Thy  servant  our  father  is 
well ;  he  is  yet  alive.  And  they  bent  the  head,  and 
bowed  down. 

29  And  he.  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  Benjamin  his  brother, 
the  son  of  his  mother  ;  and  he  said  :  Is  this  your  younger 
brother,  of  whom  ye  spoke  to  me  ?  And  he  said  :  God 
be  gracious  to  thee,  my  son. 

30  And  Joseph  made  haste,  for  his  bowels  yearned  toward 
his  brother,  and  he  sought  where  to  weep  ;  and  he  entered 

31  into  the  inner  chamber,  and  wept  there.  And  he  washed 
his  face,  and  went  forth.  And  he  refrained  himself,  and 
said  :  Set  on  food. 

32  And  they  set  on  for  him  by  himself,  and  for  them  by 
themselves,  and  for  the  Egyptians,  who  ate  with  him,  by 
themselves  ;  because  the  Egyptians  could  not  eat  food  with 
the  Hebrews,  for  that  is  an  abomination  to  Egyptians. 

33  And  they  sat  before  him,  the  first-born  according  to  his 
birthright,    and   the    younger   according    to    his    minority. 

V.  28.  Bent  the  head,  and  bowed  down  ;  inclined  the  head,  and  bowed  down  to  the  ground,— 
the  Oriental  form  of  prostration  before  a  superior  magistrate,  as  often  represented  in  the 
sculptures  on  Egyptian  monuments.  The  bending  of  the  head  was  in  acknowledgment  of  his 
courteous  and  kindly  inquiries  after  the  welfare  of  their  father. 

V.  32.  They  considered  foreigners  unclean,  as  not  observing  the  strict  rites  prescribed  to 
themselves,  and  because  they  killed  and  ate  animals  held  sacred  by  the  Egyptians.* 

V.  33.  Sat  before  him.  That  the  custom  of  siltmg  at  meals  prevailed  among  the  ancient 
Egyptians  is  shown  by  the  sculptures  on  the  monuments.! 

Wondering,  that  their  respective  ages  should  be  exactly  known,  where  all  of  them  were 
strangers. £ 

*  Herodotus,  ii.,  41.    Compare,  on  the  exclusiveness  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  Diodorus  Sicu- 
lus,  i.  G7. 
t  See,  for  example,  the  group  represented  in  Wilkinson  (as  above),  vol.  ii.,  p.  39ft 
|  This  "attention  to  precedence  was  characteristic  of  Egyptian  customs,"  ax  remarked  in 
Smith's  Bible  Dictionary  (art.  Egypt,  domestic  life) ;  but  that  it  was  the  cause  of  their  surprise, 
as  is  there  suggested,  seems  less  probable  than  the  explanation  in  the  text. 

181 


Chap.  xliv.  GENESIS. 


34  And  the  men  looked  wondering  one  at  another.  And  he 
took  portions  from  before  him  for  them  ;  and  Benjamin's 
portion  was  five  times  more  than  any  of  theirs.  And  they 
drank,  and  were  merry  with  him. 

1  And  he  commanded  him  who  was  over  his  house,  say- 
ing P  Fill  the  men's  bags  with  food,  as  much  as  they  can 
bear,  and  put  each  one's  money  in  the  mouth  of  his  bag. 

2  And  my  cup,  the  silver  cup,  thou  shalt  put  in  the  mouth 
of  the  bag  belonging  to  the  youngest,  and  the  money  for 
his  grain.  And  he  did  according  to  the  word  of  Joseph, 
which  he  had  sppken. 

8       The   morning   dawned,  and   the   men  were    sent   away, 

they  and  their  asses. 
4       They  were   gone  out   of  the   city,   were   not  far   away, 

when  Joseph  said  to  him  who  was  over  his  house  :  Arise, 

follow  after  the  men,  and  overtake  them,  and  say  to  them : 
6  Wherefore  have  ye   requited   evil  for  good  ?     Is  not  this 

that   in   which   my  lord   drinks?     And   he   verily   divines 

therewith.     Ye  have  done  evil  in  that  ye  have  done. 
6       And  he  overtook  them,  and  spoke  to  them  these  words. 
T       And  they  said  to  him  :  Wherefore  does  my  lord  speak 

according  to  these  words  ?     Far  be  it  from  thy  servants  to 
8  do  such  a  thing.     Behold,  the  money,  which  we  found  in 

the  mouths  of  our  bags,  we  brought  back  to  thee  from  the 

Chs.  44,  45.  Joseph's  final  trial  of  his  brothers,  and  his  disclosure  of  himself  to  them.  He 
sends  for  his  father's  family. 

W.  4,  5.  The  crime  with  which  they  are  charged  is  aggravated  by  several  circumstances. 
First,  it  is  returning  evil  for  good.  Secondly,  the  stolen  cup  belongs  to  the  lord  of  the  land, 
and  their  offense  is  against  the  highest  officer  of  the  realm.  Thirdly,  the  cup  is  for  his  own  • 
private  use,  and  the  theft  is  an  affront  to  his  person.  Fourthly,  it  is  a  sacred  vessel,  and  kept 
for  a  sacred  use,  and  the  theft  is  a  violation  of  its  sanctity.  All  these  grave  offenses  are  com- 
bined in  the  alleged  theft  of  the  cup. 

Divines.  Compare  ch.  30  :  27,  note,  third  paragraph.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose,  either 
here  or  in  v.  15,  that  there  is  reference  to  the  actual  use  of  divination. 

V.  7.  According  to  these  words  ;  according  to  their  tenor  and  import,  meaning  the  charge 
contained  in  them.  It  would  be  less  delicately  respectful  to  say :  Wherefore  does  my  lord  speak 
these  words  ? 

V.  8.  Here  again  (compare  the  note  on  ch.  42  :  14)  they  make  a  very  clear  case  for  them- 
selves; and  their  question,  "  and  how  should  we  steal  from  thy  lord's  house,"  would  have  been 
unanswerable,  but  for  the  advantage  covertly  taken  of  them.  An  important  end  is  gained  by 
this  arbitrary  proceeding,  namely,  that  the  sympathies  of  the  reader  are  now  with  them  ;  though 
the  justness  of  their  own  self-condemnation  (ch.  42  :  21)  can  not  be  denied.  Compare  ch. 
45  :  5-3,  and  note. 

182 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xliv. 


land  of  Canaan  ;  and  how  should  we  steal  from  thy  lord's 
9  house   silver  or   gold  ?     With  whomsoever  of  thy  servants 
it  shall  be  found,  let  him  die  ;  and  we  also  will  be  servants 
to  my  lord. 

10  J^nd  he  said  :  Yea  now,  according  to  your  words,  so  be 
it.  With  whomsoever  it  shall  be  found,  he  shall  be  my 
servant ;  and  ye  shall  be  blameless. 

11  And  they  made  haste,  and  took  down  each  one  his  bag 

12  to  the  earth  ;  and  they  opened  each  one  his  bag.  And  he 
searched  ;  he  began  at  the  eldest,  and  ended  at  the  young- 
est ;  and  the  cup  was  found  in  Benjamin's  bag. 

13  And  they  rent  their  garments  ;  and  they  loaded  each 
one  his  ass,  and  returned  to  the  city. 

14  And  Judah  came,  and  his  brothers,  to  the  house  of 
Joseph  ;  for  he  was  yet  there  ;  and  they  fell  before  him 
to  the  earth. 

15  And  Joseph  said  to  them  :  What  is  this  deed  that  ye 
have  done  ?  Did  ye  not  know,  that  such  a  man  as  I  can 
surely  divine  ? 

16  And  Judah  said  :  What  shall  we  say  to  my  lord  ?  What 
shall  we  speak  ?  And  how  shall  we  clear  ourselves  ?  God 
has  found  out  the  iniquity  of  thy  servants.  Behold,  we 
are  servants  to  my  lord,  both  we,  and  he  in  whose  hand 
the  cup  was  found. 

17  And  he  said  :  Far  be  it  from  me  to  do  this.  The  man 
in  whose  hand  the  cup  was  found,  he  shall  be  my  servant ; 
and  do  ye  go  up  in  peace  to  your  father. 

18  And  Judah  came  near  to  him  and  said  :  Beseech  thee, 
my  lord  !  Let  thy  servant,  I  pray,  speak  a  word  in  the 
ears  of  my  lord  ;  and  let  not  thine  anger  burn  against  thy 
servant ;  for  thou  art  even  as  Pharaoh. 

19  My  lord  asked  his  servants,  saying  :  Have  ye   a  father, 

20  or    a   brother  ?     And   we   said   to   my   lord  :  We    have    a 


V.  14.    Fell  before  him  to  the  earth.     This  was  not  the  reverential  bowing  down  before  a 
superior  and  a  magistrate.    They  cast  themselves  on  the  ground,  as  criminals  before  their  judge. 

V.  15.     Can  surely  divine.    Compare  the  remarks  on  vv.  4,  5,  second  paragraph. 

V.  18.     Thou  art  even  as  Pharaoh.   For  this  reason  he  craves  indulgence  for  hia  presumption 
In  addressing  one  so  exalted  in  station  and  power. 

183 


Chap.  xltv.  GENESIS. 


father,  an  old  man,  and  a  child  of  old  age,  a  little  one  ; 
and  his  brother  is  dead,  and  he  alone  is  left  of  his  mother, 
and  his  father  loves  him. 

And  thou  saidst  to  thy  servants  :  Bring  him  down  to 
me,  that  I  may  set  my  eyes  upon  him.  And  we  said  to 
my  lord  :  The  lad  can  not  leave  his  father  ;  for  if  he  leaves 
his  father,  he  will  die. 

And  thou  saidst  to  thy  servants  :  If  your  youngest 
brother  comes  not  down  with  you,  ye  shall  see  my  face 
no  more.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  we  went  up  to 
thy  servant  my  father,  that  we  told  him  the  words  of  my 
lord. 

And  our  father  said  :  R-eturn,  bay  us  grain  for  a,  little 
food.  And  we  said  :  We  can  not  go  down.  If  our  young- 
est brother  be  with  us,  then  will  we  go  down  ;  for  we  can 
not  see  the  face  of  the  man,  if  our  youngest  brother  is  not 
with  us.  ' 

And  thy  servant  my  father  said  to  us  :  Ye  know  that 
my  wife  bore  me  two.  And  one  went  out  from  me  ;  and 
I  said  :  Surely  he  is  torn  in  pieces  ;  and  I  saw  him  not 
since.  And  if  ye  take  this  also  from  my  presence,  and 
harm  befall  him,  ye  will  bring  down  my  gray  hairs  in 
sorrow  to  the  underworld. 

Now  therefore,  when  I  come  to  thy  servant  my  father, 
and  the  lad  is  not  with  us,  seeing  that  his  soul  is  bound 
to  his  soul,  it  will  come  to  pass,  when  he  sees  that  the  lad 
is  not,  that  he  will  die  ;  and  thy  servants  will  bring  down 
the  gray  hairs  of  thy  servant  our  father  in  sorrow  to  the 
underworld. 


V.  27.    Bore  me  two.    See  ch.  30  :  22-24,  and  ch.  35  :  16-18. 

The  expression,  "  rny  wife,"  as  though  lie  had  no  other,  indicates  the  tenderness  of  the  rela- 
tion while  she  lived,  and  the  fondness  with  which  her  memory  was  cherished.  Compare  cb. 
29  :  18-20,  and  chs.  35  :  20,  48  :  7. 

VV.  28,  29.  Compare  the  parallel  expressions,  "  went  out  from  me"  (v.  28),  and  "  from  my 
ptesence"  (v.  29).  One  went  from  the  paternal  home,  and  was  seen  no  more ;  and  how  can  he 
permit  the  other  to  go  from  his  presence  and  guardianship  ! 

Underworld.    See  the  remarks  on  ch.  37  :  35,  third  paragraph. 

V.  30.  His  soul  is  bound  to  his  soul.  So  the  same  phrase  is  used  in  1  Sam.  18  :  1 ;  in  the 
common  English  version,  "  The  soul  of  Jonathan  was  knit  with"  (properly,  was  bound  to)  "  the 
■oul  of  David." 

V.  31.    Is  not.    Compare  this  expression  in  ch.  5  :  24,  and  in  chs.  37  :  30,  42  :  36. 

184 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xlv. 


32  For  thy  servant  by  his  surety  obtained  the  lad  from  my 
father,  saying  :  If  I  bring  him  not  to  thee,  then  will  I  be 
guilty  to  my  father  forever. 

33  Now  therefore,  I  pray,  let  thy  servant  remain  instead  of 
the  lad  a  servant  to  my  lord,  and  let  the  lad  go  up  with 

34  his  brothers.  For  how  shall  I  go  up  to  my  father,  and 
the  lad  not  with  me  ?  Lest  I  see  the  evil  that  will  come 
on  my  father. 

1  And  Joseph  was  not  able  to  refrain  himself  before  all 
that  stood  by  him  ;  and  he  cried  :  Cause  every  man  to  go 
out  from  me.     And  no  one  was  standing  with  him,  when 

2  Joseph  made  himself  known  to  his  brothers.  And  he 
wept  aloud  ;  and  the  Egyptians  heard,  and  the  house  of 
Pharaoh  heard. 

3  And  Joseph  said  to  his  brothers  :  I  am  Joseph ;  is  my 
father  yet  alive  ?  And  his  brothers  could  not  answer  him ; 
for  they  were  confounded  before  him. 

*  And  Joseph  said  to  his  brothers  :  Come  near  to  me,  I 
pray.     And  they  cam»e  near.     And  he  said  :  I  am  Joseph 

6  your  brother,  whom  ye  sold  into  Egypt.  Now  therefore 
be  not  grieved,  and  be  not  angry  with  yourselves,  that  ye 
sold  me  hither  ;  for  God  sent   me  before  you  to  preserve 

6  life.  For  these  two  years  has  the  famine  been  in  the 
land  ;  and  there  are  yet  five  years  in  which  there  will  be 

7  no  plowing  or  harvesting.  And  God  sent  me  before  you 
to  make  for  you  a  remnant  in  the  earth,  and  to  save  you 
alive,  for  a  great  deliverance. 

V.  32.  By  his  surety,  etc.  The  idea  of  obtaining  is  the  prominent  one  here.  I  prevailed  on 
his  father  to  let  him  go,  by  becoming  surety  for  his  safe  return.    See  ch.  43  :  9. 

V.  34.  Lest  I  see,  depends  on  the  assertion  implied  in  the  preceding  question;  I  can  not  go 
up,  and  the  lad  not  with  me,  lest  I  see,  etc.  The  construction  is  not  rhetorically  correct,  but  ia 
none  the  less  elegant  and  effective. 

Ch.  45  :  1.     Thai  stood  by  him  ;  the  subordinate  officers  in  attendance  on  his  person. 

VV.  5-8.  The  sentiment  of  these  verses  shows  that  his  severity  toward  his  brothers  had  not 
been  dictated  by  resentment,  and  that  the  wrong  he  had  suffered  at  their  hands  was  fully  for- 
given. While  he  does  not  justify  their  conduct,  or  seek  to  lessen  its  guilt  in  their  own  eyes,  be 
turns  their  thoughts  to  the  higher  aims  of  Providence,  which  overruled  their  evil  intent  for 
good. 

V.  7.  For  a  great  deliverance ;  great  in  the  magnitude  of  the  threatened  danger,  and  in  the 
wonderful  means  by  which  it  was  averted. 

185 


Chap.  xly.  GENESIS. 


8  Now  therefore,  it  was  not  ye  that  sent  me  hither,  but 
God  ;  and  he  has.  made  me  a  father  to  Pharaoh,  and  lord 
of  all  his  house,  and  ruler  over  all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

9  ■  Make  haste,  and  go  up  to  my  father,  and  say  to  him  : 
Thus  says  thy  son  Joseph  :  God  has  made  me  lord  of  all 

10  Egypt;  come  down  to  me,  tarry  not.  And  thou  shalt 
dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen,  and  thou  shalt  be  near  to 
me,  thou,  and  thy  sons,  and  thy  sons'  sons,  and  thy  flocks, 

11  and  thy  herds,  and  all  that  thou  hast.  And  I  will  nourish 
thee  there  ;  for  there  are  yet  five  years  of  famine  ;  lest 
thou  be  impoverished,  thou,  and  thy  house,  and  all  that 
thou  hast. 

12  And  behold,  your  eyes  see,  and  the  eyes  of  my  brother 

13  Benjamin,  that  it  is  my  mouth  that  speaks  to  you.  And 
ye  shall  tell  my  father  of  all  my  glory  in  Egypt,  and  of 
all  that  ye  have  seen  ;  and  ye  shall  haste  and  bring  down 
my  father  hither. 

14  And  he  fell  on  the  neck  of  Benjamin  his  brother,  and 

15  wept ;  and  Benjamin  wept  on  his  neck.  And  he  kissed 
all  his  brothers,  and  wept  on  them ;  and  after  that  his 
brothers  talked  with  him. 

16  And  the  rumor  was  heard  in  the  house  of  Pharaoh, 
saying  :  The  brothers  of  Joseph  have  come  ;  and  it  was 
good  in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh,  and  in  the  sight  of  his 
servants. 

17  And   Pharaoh    said    to    Joseph  :  Say   to    thy   brothers  : 


V.  8.  A  father  to  Pharaoh,  as  being  his  most  trusted  counselor  and  guide  ;  an  Oriental 
designation  of  the  highest  minister  of  state. 

V.  10.  Land  of  Goshen ;  the  original  seat  of  tbe  Hebrews,  on  their  first  settlement  in  the 
country.*  It  was  a  border  land  of  Egypt  on  tbe  north,  lying  between  the  delta  of  the  Nile  f 
and  the  western  border  of  Palestine.}  Compare  ch.  46  :  28,  29.  From  the  place  where  the 
march  of  the  Hebrews  commenced,  when  they  went  out  of  Egypt,  their  nearest  way  was 
through  the  "land  of  the  Philistines"  (Ex.  13  :  17,  18),  and  the  distance  to  the  Red  Sea  (its 
ancient  western  shore)  was  a  journey  of  three  days  (Ex.  12  :  37,  13  :  20,  14  :  2  ;  Num.  33  :  5-8). 

*  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose,  nor  is  it  at  all  probable,  that  the  Hebrews  did  not  subse- 
quently spread  beyond  its  limits,  as  a  subject  people  under  the  control  of  their  masters. 

f  On  its  eastern  branch  was  a  royal  residence  of  the  Shepherd  kings  far  a  portion  of  the  year 
(note  to  ch.  12  :  15,  second  paragraph) ;  compare  the  language  of  Joseph  in  this  verse,  "  thou 
shalt  be  near  to  me." 

|  See  the  discussion  of  the  subject  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Goshen,  and  in  LTerzoy'1! 
Real-EncyclopMie,  art.  Gosen. 

186 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xlv. 


This  do  ye  ;  load  your  beasts,  and  go:  get  to  the  land  of 

18  Canaan  ;  and  take  your  father  and  your  households,  and 
come    to    me  ;  and    I   will   give   you  the  best  of  the  land 

19  of  Egypt,  and  ye  shall  eat  of  the  fat  of  the  land.  Now 
therefore  thou  art  commanded  ;  this  do  ye,  take  for  you 
wagons  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  for  your  little  ones,  and 

20  for  your  wives,  and  bring  your  father,  and  come.  And  let 
not  your  eye  look  regretfully  on  your  goods  ;  for  the  best 
of  all  the  land  of  Egypt,  it  is  yours. 

21  And  the  sons  of  Israel  did  so.  And  Joseph  gave  them 
wagons,  according  to  the  command  of  Pharaoh,  and  gave 

22  them  provisions  for  the  way.  To  each  of  them  all  he 
gave  changes  of  raiment ;  and  to  Benjamin  he  gave  three 
hundred  pieces  of  silver,  and  five  changes  of  raiment. 

23  And  to  his  father  he  sent  after  this  manner  ;  ten  asses 
bearing  the  good  things  of  Egypt,  and  ten  she-asses  bear- 
ing grain,  and  bread,  and  food,  for  his  father  by  the  way. 

24  And  he  sent  his  brothers  away,  and  they  went.  And 
he  said  to  them  :  Do  not  fall  out  by  the  way. 

25  And  they  went  up  from  Egypt,  and  came  to  the  land  of 

26  Canaan,  to  Jacob  their  father.  And  they  told  him,  saying: 
Joseph  is  yet  alive  ;  yea,  and  he  is  ruler  over  all  the  land 

V.  18.  The  best  of  Vie  land.  No  less  than  this  would  express  his  sense  of  obligation  to  the 
family  of  one  who  had  saved  the  whole  land.  But  while  free  to  avail  themselves  of  the  royal 
grant,  they  chose  that  part  of  the  land  which  was  best  adapted  to  their  own  wants.  Compare 
ohs.  46  :  31-34,  47  :  3-6. 

V.  19.  Thou  art  commanded.  The  command,  addressed  to  Joseph,  is  intended  for  his 
brothers,  as  is  shown  by  the  plural  forms,  "this  do  ye,"  etc.,  including  them  with  him. 

Wagons.  Wheel-carriages  were  in  common  use  in  Egypt,*  but  were  not  so  well  adapted  to 
the  more  uneven  surface  of  Palestine,  where  beasts  of  burden  were  used  for  transportation. 

V.  23.     Food,  in  general,  and  comprehending  what  is  not  included  in  the  term  bread. 

V.  24.  Do  not  fall  out  by  the  way.  The  violence  of  temper  manifested  on  other  occasions, 
and  the  conflict  of  interests  likely  to  arise,  in  view  of  their  past  and  future  relations  t>  Joseph, 
justify  the  caution  here  given  them.f  Some  translate  :  Be  not  afraid  by  the  way.  Dut  there  is 
little  significance  in  this  admonition,  or  occasion  for  it,  under  the  circumstances. 

*  As  represented,  from  ancient  sculptures,  in  Wilkinson's  Manners  and  Customs  of  the 
Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iii.,  p.  179.  "  They  were  commonly  used  in  Egypt  fur  traveling;  and 
Strabo  performed  the  journey  from  Syene  to  the  spot  where  he  crossed  the  river  to  visit  Philae, 
in  one  of  these  carriages"  (p.  180). 

t  "  Joseph  is-  concerned  lest,  on  their  homeward  journey,  discussions  should  arise  respecting 
the  sale  of  him,  with  mutual  reproaches,  and  strife,  and  altercation,  to  which  Reuben  had  already 
(ch.  42  :  22)  led  the  way."— Knobel,  die  Genesis  erldarl,  p.  335. 

"  There  was  ground  to  fear  that  each,  in  clearing  himself,  would  seek  to  transfer  the  blamo 
to  others,  and  thus  contention  would  arise."—  Calvin  in  librum  Gcneseos. 

187 


Chap.  xlyi.  GENESIS. 


of  Egypt.      And  Jacob's  heart  was   cold,  for  he  believed 
them  not. 

27  And  they  told  him  all  the  words  of  Joseph  which  he 
spoke  to  them,  and  he  saw  the  wagons  which  Joseph  sent 
to  carry  him ;  and  the  spirit  of  Jacob  their  father  revived. 

28  And  Israel  said  :  Enough  !  Joseph  my  son  is  yet  alive  ;  I 
will  go,  and  see  him  before  I  die. 

1  And  Israel  removed,  and  all  that  he  had,  and  came  to 
Beer-sheba  ;  and  he  offered  sacrifices  to  the  God  of  his 
father  Isaac. 

2  And   God  spoke  to  Israel  in  visions  of  the  night,  and 

3  said:  Jacob!  Jacob!  And  he  said:  Here  am  I.  And 
he  said  :  I  am  God,  thy  father's  God. '  Fear  not  to  go 
down  to  Egypt ;  for  I  will  there  make  thee  a  great  nation. 

4  I  will  go  down  with  thee  to  Egypt  •  and  I  will  also  surely 
bring  thee  up  ;  and  Joseph  shall  put  his  hand  upon  thine 
eyes. 

6  And  Jacob  rose  up  from  Beer-sheba  ;  and  the  sons  of 
Israel  bore  Jacob  their  father,  and  their  little  ones,  and 
their  wives,    in   the   wagons  which   Pharaoh  sent  to  bear 

6  them.  And  they  took  their  cattle,  and  their  goods,  which 
they  had   gathered  in   the   land   of  Canaan,  and   came   to 

7  Egypt,  Jacob,  and  all  his  seed  with  him.  His  sons,  and 
his    sons'    sons    with    him,    his    daughters,    and    his    sons' 

V.  26.  Was  cold.  Instead  of  being  warmed  and  animated  by  the  intelligence,  he  remained 
nnmoved,  for  it  seemed  to  him  incredible. 

Chs.  46  :  1—47  :  12.  Jacob  goes  down  with  his  family  to  Egypt.  He  is  presented  to  Pharaoh  ; 
and  a  possession  is  given  him  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 

V.  1.    Removed;  from  the  valley  of  Hebron  (ch.  37  :  14). 

Beer-sheba.  See  ch.  21  :  14,  note,  third  paragraph;  and  v.  31,  note,  second  paragraph. 
Here  Abraham  planted  a  grove,  and  under  its  shade  "  called  on  the  name  of  Jehovah,  the  eter- 
nal God"  (ch.  21  :  33) ;  and  here  Isaac  "  built  an  altar,  and  called  on  the  name  of  Jehovah"  (ch. 
26  :  25).  On  this  spot,  so  hallowed  in  the  remembrances  of  the  past,  Jacob  pauses  in  his  jour- 
ney, and  "  offers  sacrifices  to  the  Cod  of  his  father  Isaac." 

Of  his  father  Isaac.     Compare  the  similar  expression  of  filial  feeling  in  ch.  31  :  53. 

VV.  2-4.  Jacob  is  now  making  the  most  momentous  and  perilous  change  recorded  in  his 
history;  leaving  the  familiar  land  of  his  sojournings  with  its  promised  blessings,  for  a  strange 
land  and  an  unknown  future.  Hence  the  divine  assurances  here  given  him.  Compare  the  simi- 
lar record  in  the  case  of  Abraham,  ch.  15  :  1,  and  note. 

In  visions  of  (lie  night.     See  the  remarks  on  ch.  15  :  1,  second  paragraph. 

Sliall  put  his  hand  upon  thine  eyes;  the  last  office  of  filial  love.  That  he  should  receive  it 
from  the  beloved  Joseph,  the  lost  and  found,  is  the  crowning  blessing  reserved  for  the  aged 
patriarch. 

188 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xlvi. 


daughters,    and    all    his  seed,    he    brought    with    him    to 
Egypt. 

8  And  these  are  the  names  of  the  sons  of  Israel,  who 
came  to  Egypt,  Jacob  and  his  sons.  The  first-born  of 
Jacob,  Reuben. 

9  And  the  sons  of  Reuben  ;  Hanoch,  and  Phallu,  and 
Hezron,  and  Carmi. 

10  And  the  sons  of  Simeon  ;  Jemuel,  and  Jamin,  and 
Ohad,  and  Jachin,  and  Zohar,  and  Shaul  son  of  the  Ca- 
naanitish  woman. 

11  And  the  sons  of  Levi ;  Gershon,  Kohath,  and  Merari. 

12  And  the  sons  of  Judah  ;  Br,  and  Onan,  and  Shelah,  and 
Pharez,  and  Zarah.  And  Er  and  Onan  died  in  the  land  of 
Canaan.  And  the  sons  of  Pharez  were  Hezron  and 
Hamul. 

13  And  the  sons  of  Issachar  ;  Tola,  and  Phuvah,  and  Job, 
and  Shimron. 

14  And  the  sons  of  Zebulun  ;  Sered,  and  Elon,  and  Jahleel. 

15  These  are  the  sons  of  Leah,  whom  she  bore  to  Jacob  in 
Padan-aram,  and  Dinah  his  daughter.  All  the  souls  of  his 
sons  and  his  daughters  were  thirty-three. 

V.  8.  Who  came  to  Egypt.  This  phrase,  here  and  in  v.  26,  is  to  be  understood  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  similar  statement  in  eh.  35  :  20;  compare  the  note  on  vv.  23-2G  of  that  chapter. 

The  object  here  is  to  give  the  family  of  Jacob,  as  constituted  on  their  first  settlement  in 
Egypt;  showing  from  what  beginning  sprang  the  numerous  race  that  afterward  s-iread  abroad 
in  the  land,  and  were  finally  brought  out  from  it  in  such  numbers  (Ex.  12  :  37).  Hence  Joseph 
(v.  19),  and  all  of  Benjamin's  ten  sons  (v.  21),  and  Judah's  two  grandsons  (v.  12),  are  included  in 
the  summary  in  v.  2G ;  and  Joseph's  two  sons,  "  born  to  him  in  Egypt,"  arc  included  among  the 
seventy  "who  came  to  Egypt''  (v.  27).  All  these  expressions  are  to  be  understood  in  accordance 
with  the  evident  intention  of  the  writer,  as  above  stated.  Virtually,  indeed,  all  came  into  Egypt, 
6ince  all  were  of  foreign  parentage,  and  originated  in  Canaan  the  birthplace  of  the  family.* 

V.  12.  The  sons  of  Pharez  were  Hezron  and  Hamul.  It  is  only  said  that  they  were  hia  sons, 
not  that  they  were  born  in  Canaan.  For  reasons  stated  in  the  note  on  v.  8,  they  are  included 
in  the  summary  in  v.  2C. 

V.  15.  Allthe  souls  of  his  sons.  His  sons  by  Leah  are  meant,  her  sons  (see  the  first  clause) 
being  the  subject  of  this  verse. 

In  the  summing  up,  in  this  verse,  Jacob  is  included  (see  v. 8,  Jacob  andhis  sons),  though  not 

*  That  in  the  interval  of  about  twenty-two  years,  between  the  occurrences  related  in  ch.  37 
and  those  related  here,  Judah  should  have  married  and  had  son3  and  grandsons,  born  to  him 
(v.  12),  though  quite  improbable,  is  certainly  possible;  and  the  interval  of  time  can  be  some- 
what extended  on  more  than  one  possible  supposition.  But  the  reader,  whose  sympathies  have 
been  deeply  moved  by  the  touching  allusions  to  Benjamin  in  the  preceding  narrative,  would  be 
amazed  to  find  that  the  "little  one,"  "the  lad  who  can  not  leave  his  father"  (ch.  H  :  20,  22), 
is  a  married  man  with  ten  children  !  The  supposition  shocks  all  sense  of  probability ;  and  it  is 
not  required  by  the  sacred  writer's  statement. 

139 


Chap.  xlyi.  GENESIS. 


16  And  the  sons  of  Gad  ;  Ziphion  and  Haggi,  Shuni  and 
Ezbon,  Eri,  and  Arodi,  and  Areli. 

17  And  the  sons  of  Asher  ;  Jimnah,  and  Ishuah,  and  Isui, 
and  Beriah,  and  Serah  their  sister.  And  the  sons  of 
Beriah  ;  Heber  and  Malchiel. 

18  These  are  the  sons  of  Zilpah,  whom  Laban  gave  to 
Leah  his  daughter  ;  and  these  she  bore  to  Jacob,  sixteen 
souls. 

19  The  sons  of  Rachel,  Jacob's  wife  ;  Joseph,  and  Benja- 
min. 

20  And  to  Joseph  were  born,  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  Manas- 
seh  and  Ephraim,  whom  Asenath,  daughter  of  Poti-pherah 
priest  of  On,  bore  to  him. 

21  And  the  sons  of  Benjamin  were  Belah,  and  Becher,  and 
Ashbel,  Gera  and  Naaman,  Ehi  and  Rosh,  Muppim,  and 
Huppim,  and  Ard. 

22  These  are  the  sons  of  Rachel,  who  were  born  to  Jacob. 
All  the  souls  were  fourteen. 

23  And  the  sons  of  Dan  ;  Hushim, 

24  And  the  sons  of  Naphtali ;  Jahzeel,  and  Guni,  and 
Jezer,  and  Shillem. 

25  These  are  the  sons  of  Bilhah,  whom  Laban  gave  to 
Rachel  his  daughter,  and  she  bore  these  to  Jacob.  All 
the  souls  were  seven. 

26  All   the  souls  belonging  to  Jacob,  that  came  to  Egypt, 

V.  26.     Or,  All  the  souls  besides  Jacob 

in  v.  26.  He  might  properly  be  included  in  the  number  of  the  family  of  which  he  was  the  head  ; 
and  counting  him  under  the  heading,  "his  sons  and  his  daughters,"  is  a  mere  matter  of  form.* 
Such  peculiarities  are  to  be  carefully  noted  in  a  document  of  this  kind. 

The  daughter,  Dinah,  is  here  expressly  mentioned,  and  is  included  in  the  enumeration  of 
Leah's  offspring  in  this  verse  (as  is  Serah,  v.  17,  among  those  of  Zilpah),  and  in  the  final  sum- 
mary in  v.  27;  though  she  is  omitted  in  the  general  summary  in  v.  26. 

These  are  trifling  variations  from  uniformity  of  method;  and  they  show  that  it  was  not 
strictly  regarded,  in  a  matter  of  indifference. 

V.  22.  Were  fourteen ;  including,  as  Rachel's  progeny,  the  two  sons  of  Joseph  (v.  20), 
though  they  are  not  included  in  the  summary  iu  v.  26,  being  there  reserved  for  the  following 
Btatement  in  v.  27. 

V.  23.    Sons.    See  the  remark  on  ch.  36  :  25. 

*  "Jacob,  in  v.  15,  is  counted  among  the  sons  of  Leah  (among  these,  because  with  them  his 
posterity  began),  instead  of  being  added  to  them."— Belitzsch,  Commentar  uber  die  Genesis, 
p.  563. 

190 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xlvi. 


that  came  out  of  his  loins,  besides  the  wives  of  Jacob's  sons, 

27  all  the  souls  were  sixty-six.  And  the  sons  of  Joseph,  who 
were  "born  to  him  in  Egypt,  were  two  souls.  All  the  souls 
of  the  house  of  Jacob,  that  came  to  Egypt,  were  seventy. 

28  '  And  Judah  he  sent  before  him  to  Joseph,  to  show  the 
way  before  him  to  Goshen  ;  and  they  came  to  the  land  of 

29  Goshen.  And  Joseph  harnessed  his  chariot,  and  went  up 
to  meet  Israel  his  father,  to  Goshen  ;  and  he  appeared 
before  him,  and  he  fell  on  his  neck,  and  wept  on  his  neck 
continually. 

30  And  Israel  said  to  Joseph  :  Now  let  me  die,  since  I 
have  seen  thy  face,  that  thou  art  yet  alive. 

31  And  Joseph  said  to  his  brothers,  and  to  his  father's 
house  :  I  will  go  up,  and  tell  Pharaoh,  and  say  to  him  : 
My  brothers,  and  my  father's  house,  who  were  in  the  land 

32  of  Canaan,  are  come  to  me.  And  the  men  are  shepherds ; 
for  they  are  herdsmen,  and  have  brought  their  flocks,  and 
their  herds,  and  all  that  they  have. 

33  And  it  shall  be,  when  Pharaoh  shall  call  you,  and  shall 

34  say  :  What  is  your  occupation  ?  that  ye  shall  say  :  Thy 
servants  have  been  herdsmen  from  our  youth  even  till 
now,  both  we  and  our  fathers ;  in  order  that  ye  may 
dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen.  For  every  shepherd  is  the 
abomination  of  Egyptians. 

Y.  28.  He  sent  Judah  forward  in  advance  to  Joseph,  to  learn  from  him  how  to  direct  their 
course  to  the  place  intended  for  them. 

V.  29.  Appeared  before  him.  The  expression  indicates  the  imposing  equipage  and  attendance 
required  by  his  position  as  the  highest  officer  of  the  realm.    Compare  ch.  41  :  43. 

V.  34.  Eoery  shepherd  is  the  abomination  of  Egyptians.  This  prejudice  is  strikingly  illus- 
trated in  the  sculptures  on  the  ancient  Egyptian  monuments.*  But  it  seems  not  to  have  been 
shared  by  the  reigning  family  (see  v.  32,  and  ch.  47  :  5,  G)  ;  as  Joseph  would  naturally  have 
sought  to  avoid  this  frank  disclosure  of  their  occupation,  if  it  had  been  offensive. 

The  two  facts,  apparently  inconsistent,  are  reconciled  on  the  supposition  referred  to  in  the 
note  to  ch.  12  :  15,  second  paragraph,  and  in  the  closing  remarks  on  ch.  41;  the  oppressive 
domination  of  the  foreign  race  of  Shepherd  kings  having  made  the  name  and  occupation  of  the 
shepherd  odious  to  native  Egyptians.!  The  prejudice  may  be  accounted  for  on  other  grounds; 
but  not  the  apparent  absence  of  it  in  the  reigning  family. 

*  "  The  artists,  both  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt,  delighted  on  all  occasions  in  representing 
them  as  dirty  and  unshaven ;  and  at  Beni  Hassan  and  the  tombs  near  the  Pyramids  of  Gcezeh, 
we  find  them  caricatured  as  a  deformed  and  unseemly  race.'' —  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Cus- 
toms of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii.,  p.  16. 

t  The  date  of  their  occupation  of  Egypt,  or  of  a  part  of  it,  is  still  a  subject  of  discussion  ;  but 
the  weight  of  evidence  seems  to  be  in  favor  of  the  supposition  here  referred  to. 

191 


Chap.  xlvii.  GENESIS. 


1  And  Joseph  came  and  told  Pharaoh,  and  said :  My 
father  and  my  brothers,  and  their  flocks,  and  their  herds, 
and  all  that  they  have,  are  come  from  the  land  of  Canaan ; 
and  behold,  they  are  in  the  land  of  Goshen. 

2  And  of  the  whole  number  of  his  brothers  he  took  five 

3  men,  and  presented  them  before  Pharaoh.  And  Pharaoh 
said  to  his  brothers  :  What  is  your  occupation  ?  And  they 
said  to  Pharaoh  :  Thy  servants  are  shepherds,  both  we 
and  our  fathers. 

4  And  they  said  to  Pharaoh  :  We  have  come  to  sojourn 
in  the  land  ;  for  there  is  no  pasturage  for  the  flocks  which 
belong  to  thy  servants  ;  for  the  famine  is  grievous  in  the 
land  of  Canaan.  Now  therefore,  we  pray  thee,  let  thy 
servants  dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen. 

5  And  Pharaoh  spoke  to  Joseph,  saying  :  Thy  father  and 

6  thy  brothers  are  come  to  thee.  The  land  of  Egypt  is 
before  thee.  Cause  thy  father  and  thy  brothers  to  dwell 
in  the  best  of  the  land.  They  shall  dwell  in  the  land  of 
Goshen  ;  and  if  thou  knowest  that  there  are  capable  men 
among  them,  make  them  master-herdsmen  over  what  I 
have. 

7  And  Joseph  brought  in  Jacob  his  father,  and  placed 
him  before  Pharaoh  ;  and  Jacob  blessed  Pharaoh. 

8  And  Pharaoh  said  to  Jacob  :  How  many  are  the  days 
of  the  years  of  thy  life  ? 

9  And  Jacob  said  to  Pharaoh  :  The  days  of  the  years  of 
my  sojournings  are  a  hundred  and  thirty  years.  Few  and 
evil  have  been  the  days  of  the  years  of  my  life  ;  and  they 
have  not  attained  to  the  days  of  the  years  of  the  life  of 
my  fathers,  in  the  days  of  their  sojournings. 

Ch.  47  :  2.     Five  nun ;  the  most  presentable,  we  may  presume,  of  the  whole  number. 

V.  G.    In  the  best  of  the  land.    See  the  note  on  ch.  45  :  18. 

They  nhaU  dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen;  as  requested  by  them  (v.  4),  in  accordance  with 
Joseph's  instructions  in  ch.  46  :  33,  34. 

VV.  7  and  10.    Blessed.    See  the  remark  on  ch.  27  :  23,  and  the  references  in  the  foot-note. 

V.  8.    Observing  his  great  age,  Pharaoh  puts  the  question  in  a  form  which  indicates  how 
many  he  conceived  must  be  the  days,  of  the  years,  of  his  life. 

V.  9.    Sojournings.    Compare  the  remark  on  ch.  17  :  8. 

Have  not  attained,  etc.    Compare  chs.  25  :  7,  and  35  :  23. 

192 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xlvh. 


10  And  Jacob  blessed  Pharaoh,  and  went  out  from  before 
Pharaoh. 

11  And  Joseph  appointed  his  father  and  his  brothers  a 
dwelling-place,  and  he  gave  them  a  possession  in  the  land 
of  Egypt,  in  the  best  of  the  land,  in  the  land  of  Rameses, 

12  as  Pharaoh  commanded.  And  Joseph  nourished  his  father, 
and  his  brothers,  and  all  his  father's  house,  with  bread, 
according  to  their  little  ones. 

13  And  there  was  no  bread  in  all  the  land  ;  for  the  famine 
was  very  grievous,  and  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  the  land  of 
Canaan  fainted  by  reason  of  the  famine. 

u  And  Joseph  gathered  up  all  the  money  that  was  found 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  for  the 
grain  which  they  bought.  And  Joseph  brought  the  money 
into  the  house  of  Pharaoh. 

15  And  the  money  was  spent  from  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
from  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  and  all  the  Egyptians  came  to 
Joseph,  saying  :  Give  us  bread  ;  for  wherefore  should  we 
die  in  thy  presence  ?     For  there  is  no  more  money. 

16  And  Joseph  said  :  Give  your  cattle,  and  I  will  give  it 
you  for  your  cattle,  if  there  is  no  more  money. 

17  And  they  brought  their  cattle  to  Joseph.  And  Joseph 
gave  them  bread  for  the  horses,  and  for  the  flocks,  and 
for  the  herds,  and  for  the  asses  ;  and  he  provided  them 
with  bread  for  all  their  cattle  in  that  year. 

18  And  that  year  was  ended.  And  they  came  to  him  in 
the  second  }rear,  and  said  to  him  :  "We  will  not  hide  it 
from  my  lord,  that  since  the  money  and  the  beasts  are  all 
my  lord's,  there   is  nothing  left   in   the   sight  of  my  lord, 

19  except   our   bodies   and   our   lands.     Wherefore  should  we 

V.  11.  Land  of  Barneses;*  the  same  as  the  kind  of  Goshen,  or  a  district  of  it.  The  city 
Rameses  was  built  subsequently  by  the  Hebrews  (Ex.  1  :  11),  and  was  distant  from  the  Ked 
Sea  about  three  days'  journey.     See  the  references  in  the  note  on  eh.  i.J  :  10. 

V.  12.  According  to  their  little  ones  ;  according  to  the  number  of  children,  of  all  a^es,  remain- 
ing in  the  paternal  home. 

VV.  13-2G.  Conditions  on  which  Joseph  supplies  the  people  of  the  land  with  food.  Compare 
ch.  41  :  47-49. 

YV.  IS,  19.  Thtre  is  nothing  left  in  the  sight  of  my  lord,  etc.  My  lord  can  find  nothing  more, 
to  require  in  payment  for  bread,  except  our  bodies  and  our  lands. 

*  See  the  article  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary. 
n  19S 


Chap.  xlvjj.  GENESIS. 


die  before  thine  eyes,  both  we  and  our  land  ?  Buy  us 
and  our  land  for  bread,  and  we  and  our  land  will  be 
servants  to  Pharaoh  ;  and  give  us  seed,  that  we  may  live 
and  not  die,  and  that  the  land  be  not  waste. 

20  And  Joseph  bought  all  the  land  of  Egypt  fur  Pharaoh. 
For  the  Egyptians  sold  every  man  his  field,  because  the 
famine  was  too  strong  for  them.  And  the  land  became 
Pharaoh's. 

21  And  the  people,  he  transferred  them  to  the  cities,  from 
one  end  of  the  territory  of  Egypt   even   to  the  other  end 

22  thereof.  Only  the  land  of  the  priests  he  bought  not  ;  for 
the  priests  had  a  portion  from  Pharaoh,  and  they  ate  their 
portion  which  Pharaoh  gave  them.  Therefore  they  sold 
not  their  land. 

23  And  Joseph  said  to  the  people  :  Behold,  I  have  bought 

Die — both  ice  and  our  land ;  literally,  in  reference  to  the  former,  and  in  a  figurative  sense 
(literally  expressed  in  the  last  clause  of  the  verse,  "  that  the  land  be  not  waste")  in  reference 
to  the  latter. 

We  and  our  land  will  be  sei-vants  to  Pharaoh  ;  both  to  be  regarded  as  property  of  the  crown, 
the  land  doing  service  by  rendering  its  products  to  the  royal  treasury. 

V.  20.    See  the  remarks  on  vv.  23-26. 

V.  21.  To  the  cities  (th.  41  :  48,  note,  second  paragraph).  This  seems  to  have  been  done  for 
the  more  convenient  distribution  of  the  stores  of  grain  there  accumulated;  see  ch.  41  :  35,  and 
note. 

The  form  of  the  expression  does  not  admit  the  interpretation  some  have  given  it;  namely, 
that  Joseph,  for  a  government  purpose,  shifted  the  population  of  the  countryfrom  one  extremity 
of  it  to  the  other,  transferring  the  people  of  each  city  to  some  other  one.* 

V.  22.  The  priests  were  not  obliged  to  sell  their  lands;  for  they  had  a  daily  allowance  of 
food  sufficient  for  their  wants. 

To  the  same  effect  it  is  said,  by  the  earliest  of  the  ancient  writers  on  Egypt  :f  "  They  neither 
consume  anything  of  their  own,  nor  ar^e  they  at  any  expense  ;  but  bread  of  the  sacred  grain  is 
baked  for  them,  and  each  has  an  abundant  supply  of  the  flesh  of  oxen  and  of  geese,  every  day." 

VV.  23-26.  An  ancient  writer,:):  who  traveled  in  Egypt,  states  that  all  the  lands  were  taken 
by  the  kings  for  revenue  (v.  26§),  except  those  belonging  to  the  priests  (compare  v.  22),  and 
the  soldiery. || 

We  can  not  form  a  satisfactory  judgment  of  Joseph's  conduct  in  this  matter  (vv.  13-26) 

*  It  has  been  thought,  but  with  little  probability,  that  this  was  the  origin  of  the  division  of 
the  country  into  Nomes  (districts,  or  cantons).  This  division  seems  to  have  been  of  earlier 
date,  and  was  of  much  wider  extent,  than  what  is  here  narrated. 

t  Herodotus,  ii.,  37. 

X  Diodorus  Siculus,  i.,  73. 

§  "  The  evidence  of  the  monuments,  though  not  very  explicit,  seems  to  show  that  this  law 
was  ever  afterward  in  force  under  the  Pharaohs.  The  earliest  records  afford  no  information  as 
to  the  tenure  of  land;  but  :ibout  Joseph's  time  we  find  frequent  mention  of  villages  with  their 
lands,  the  two  being  described  under  one  designation,  as  held  by  the  great  officers  of  the  crown, 
apparently  by  the  royal  gift."— ii.  S.  Poole,  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Egypt  {cultivation 
andagricidlure,  second  paragraph). 

||  The  latter  exemption  belongs  to  a  period  later  than  the  date  of  the  sacred  writer's  state- 
ment, which  was  made  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years  earlier  than  the  one  here  referred  to. 

194 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xlvil 


you  this  day,  and  your  land,  for  Pharaoh.      Behold,  there 

24  is  seed  for  you,  and  ye  shall  sow  the  land.  And  it  shall 
be  that  of  the  increase  ye  shall  give  a  fifth  to  Pharaoh  ; 
and  four  parts  shall  be  your  own,  for  seed  of  the  field, 
and  for  your  food,  and  for  those  who  are  in  your  houses, 
and  for  food  for  your  little  ones. 

25  And  they  said  :  Thou  hast  saved  us  alive.  Let  us  find 
favor  in  the  sight  of  my  lord,  and  we  will  be  servants  to 
Pharaoh. 

26  And  Joseph  made  it  a  statute  over  the  land  of  Egypt 
to  this  day,  that  every  fifth  is  Pharaoh's  ;  except  that  the 
land  of  the  priests  alone  became  not  Pharaoh's. 

27  And  Israel  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  in  the  land  of 
Goshen  ;  and  they  had  possessions  therein,  and  were  fruit- 
ful, and  multiplied  exceedingly. 

28  And  Jacob  lived  in  the  land  of  Egypt  seventeen  years. 
And  the  clays  of  Jacob,  the  years  of  his  life,  were  a  hun- 
dred and  forty-seven  years. 

29  And  the  days  of  Israel  drew  near  to  death.  And  he 
called  to  his  son,  to  Joseph,  and  said  to  him  :  If  now  I 
have  found  favor  in  thy  sight,  put,  I  pray,  thy  hand  under 
my  thigh,  and  deal  with  me  kindly  and  truly.      Do  not,  I 

without  a  more  full  knowledge  of  all  the  facts  of  the  case.*  That  he  should  act  in  the  interest 
of  the  government,  would  of  course  be  expected  and  required  of  him.  It  is  to  be  observed, 
however,  that  the  claim  acquired  for  the  government  was  used  with  moderation,  a  fifth  part  of 
the  produce  from  its  own  lands  being  required  for  its  use.f  The  government,  moreover,  was 
thus  enabled  to  abolish  some  of  the  unequal  and  oppressive  distinctions  in  regard  to  landed 
property.:): 

VV.  27-31.  Jacob,  in  anticipation  of  his  approaching  death,  provides  that  his  remains  shall 
be  conveyed  for  burial  to  the  land  of  Canaan. 

V.  29.     Put  thy  hand  under  my  thigh.    See  the  remarks  on  ch.  24  :  2,  3,  third  paragraph. 

*  "  Tf,  as  we  may  reasonably  suppose,  the  people  were  warned  of  the  famine  and  made  no 
preparation  for  it,  the  government  had  a  clear  claim  upon  its  Bubjecfa  for  having  taken  precau- 
tions which  they  neglected.  In  any  case,  it  may  have  been  desirable  to  make  a  new  allotment 
of  land,  and  to  reduce  an  unequal  system  of  taxation  to  a  simple  claim  to  a  fifth  of  the  pro- 
duce."— Smith's  Bible  Di  iionary,  art.  Joseph,  eighteenth  paragraph. 

f  Long  after  this  it  was  observed  by  an  ancient  writer  and  traveler  in  Egypt  (Diodorus  Sien- 
lus,  i.,  73),  that  the  kings  were  enabled,  by  the  abundant  revenues  derived  from  the  crown  lands, 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  wars  and  of  their  own  regal  state,  and  to  reward  those  who  distin- 
guished themselves  in  the  public  service,  without  overwhelming  the  common  people  with  taxes. 

i  "Joseph  certainly  had  in  view  no  less  the  good  of  the  country  than  the  interest  of  the 
king;  inasmuch  as  he  converted  the  disproportionate  division  of  the  landed  property  into  an 
equable  leasing  of  it  in  small  portions,  for  an  annual  rent."— DelUzsch,  Commentar  uber  die 
Genesis,  3te  Ansg.,  p.  571. 

195 


Chap,  xlyiii.  GENESIS. 


30  pray,  bury  me  in  Egypt.  But  I  will  lie  with  my  fathers, 
and  thou  shalt  carry  me  out  of  Egypt,  and  bury  me  in 
their  burying-place.     And  he  said  :  I  will  do  according  to 

31  thy  word.  And  he  said  :  Swear  to  me.  And  he  swore  to 
him.     And  Israel  bowed  himself  on  the  head  of  the  bed. 

1  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  they  said  to 
Joseph  :  Behold,  thy  father  is  sick  ;  and  he  took  with  him 
his  two  sons,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim. 

2  And  they  told  it  to  Jacob,  and  said  :  Behold,  thy  son 
Joseph  is  come  to  thee.  And  Israel  strengthened  himself, 
and  sat  upon  the  bed. 

3  And  Jacob  said  to  Joseph  :  God  Almighty  appeared  to 

4  me  at  Luz  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  blessed  me.  And 
he  said  to  me  :  Behold,  I  will  make  thee  fruitful,  and  will 
multiply  thee,  and  will  make  thee  an  assemblage  of  peo- 
ples, and  will  give  this  land  to  thy  seed  after  thee  for  an 
everlasting  possession. 

6  Now  therefore,  thy  two  sons,  that  were  born  to  thee  in 
the  land  of  Egypt  before  I  came  to  thee  to  Egypt,  they 
are  mine  ;  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  shall  be  to  me  as  Reu- 

6  ben  and  Simeon.  And  thy  offspring,  which  thou  begettest 
after  them,  shall  be  thine :  after  the  name  of  their  brothers 


V.  30.  Thou  shalt  carry  me  out  of  Egypt,  etc.  He  here  requires  this  of  Joseph,  in  whom  he 
most  confided,  and  who  could  most  easily  carry  his  wishes  into  effect.  See  ch  50  :  4-9.  But 
he  also  required  it  of  all  his  sons  (ch.  49  :  29-31). 

V.  31.  Bowed  himself  on  the  head  of  the  bed ;  in  worship,  being  too  feeble  to  rise  from  the 
bed  on  which  he  reclined. 

Ch.  48.  Jacob  adopts  as  his  own  the  two  sons  of  Joseph,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim,  and  blesses 
them. 

V.  1.  Took  with  him.  It  is  implied,  as  being  a  matter  of  course,  that  he  hastened  to  the 
bedside  of  his  suffering  parent,  and  it  is  only  said  that  he  took  with  him  his  two  sons. 

V.  2.  Strengthened  himself ;  collected  all  his  remaining  strength  for  the  last  private  meeting 
with  his  son. 

V.  3.     Luz.     Compare  the  remarks  on  ch.  28  :  19. 

V.  4.     Said  to  me,  etc.     Compare  ch.  35  :  C  and  11. 

V.  5.  Ncio  therefore,  etc. ;  in  virtue  of  this  promise,  and  to  give  it  the  fullest  effect.  By 
adopting  Joseph's  two  sons  as  his  own,  he  constituted  two  heads  of  tribes  in  place  of  one, 
among  his  own  sons. 

Born — before  I  came  to  thee  to  Egypt ;  as  were  the  other  heads  of  tribes  among  Jacob's  own 
sons. 

As  Reuben  and  Simeon ;  in  place  of  my  own  first  and  second  born.    Compare  ch.  49  :  4,  7. 

V.  6.  Called  after  the  name  of  their  brothers ;  bearing  the  name  of  their  brothers,  Manasseh 
and  Ephraim,  not  being  themselves  heads  of  tribes  with  their  own  separate  inheritance. 

196 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xlviii. 


shall  they  be  called  in  their  inheritance.  And  as  for  me, 
when  I  came  from  Padan,  Rachel  died  by  me  in  the  land 
of  Canaan  on  the  way,  when  there  was  yet  a  length  of 
way  to  come  to  Ephrath  ;  and  I  buried  her  there  on  the 
way  to  Ephrath.     That  is  Bethlehem. 

And  Israel  saw  Joseph's  sons  ;  and  he  said  :  Who  are 
these  ?  And  Joseph  said  to  his  father  :  They  are  my  sons, 
whom  God  has  given  me  here.  And  he  said  :  Bring  them 
to  me,  I  pray,  that  I  may  bless  them. 

And  the  eyes  of  Israel  were  dim  with  age  ;  he  could  not 
see.  And  he  brought  them  near  to  him  ;  and  he  kissed 
them,  and  embraced  them. 

And  Israel  said  to  Joseph  :  I  did  not  think  to  see  thy 
face  ;  and  behold,  God  has  made  me  see  also  thy  seed. 

And  Joseph  brought  them  out  from  between  his  knees  ; 

13  and  he  bowed  himself  before  him  to  the  earth.  And 
Joseph  took  them  both,  Ephraim  in  his  right  hand  toward 
Israel's  left,  and  Manasseh  in  his  left  hand  toward  Israel's 
right,  and  brought  them  near  to  him. 

14  And  Israel  stretched  out  his  right  hand,  and  laid  it  on 
the  head  of  Ephraim,  and  he  was  the  younger,  and  his 
left  hand  on  the  head  of  Manasseh  ;  he  guided  his  hands 

15  knowingly,  for  Manasseh  was  the  first-born.  And  he  bless- 
ed Joseph,  and  said  :  The  God  before  whom  my  fathers 
walked,  Abraham  and  Isaac,  the  God  who  fed  me  all  my 


12 


V.  7.  As  for  me.  This  connects  with  the  first  clause  of  v.  G,  the  words,  "thy  offspring," 
intimating  the  hope  of  future  progeny ;  but  "  as  for  me,"  mine  ceased  with  the  untimely  end  of 
the  mother  of  my  first-born  in  giving  birth  to  her  second  son.  In  honor  of  her  memory,  to 
whom  further  progeny  was  denied,  he  adopts  the  offspring  of  her  elder-born  as  his  own. 

Rachel  died,  etc.    See  ch.  35  :  16-19. 

V.  10.  Corddnolsee.  Could  not  see  clearly,  so  as  to  distinguish  features  of  the  countenance, 
though  he  could  perceive  the  forms  of  persons  present  (v.  8). 

V.  12.  From  6:  tween  hia  knees;  of  Jacob  is  meant,  who  had  taken  them  between  his  knees 
and  to  his  bosom,  as  he;  embraced  and  kissed  them  (v.  10). 

In  order  to  present  them  properly  for  the  promised  blessing  (v.  9),  Joseph  takes  them  from 
his  father's  embrace,  and  first  reverently  bowing  down  before  him,  presents  himself  and  his 
sons  to  receive  the  blessing  (vv.  15,  10). 

V.  14.  Knowingly.  It  was  not  done  accidentally  or  by  mistake.  He  had  a  purpose  in  it; 
and  fully  knowing  what  he  did,  he  placed  his  right  hand  on  the  head  of  the  younger,  and  his 
left  on  the  head  of  the  elder.    Compare  v.  10. 

For  Manasseh  was  the  first-born;  showing  that  he  had  a  purpose  in  thus  crossing  his  hands, 
in  order  to  avoid  laying  his  right  hand  on  the  head  of  the  first-born. 

V.  lj.  Blessed  Joseph  ;  in  his  offspring.  See  v.  1G.  Fed  me;  as  a  shepherd  docs  his  flock, 
implying  every  other  provision  for  his  welfare. 

19? 


Chap,  xlyih.  GENESIS. 


16  life  long  to  this  day,  the  Angel  who  redeemed  me  from  all 
evil,  bless  the  lads  ;  and  let  my  name  be  named  on  them, 
and  the  name  of  my  fathers  Abraham  and  Isaac  ;  and  let 
them  increase  to  a  multitude  in  the  midst  of  the  land. 

17  And  Joseph  saw"  that  his  father  laid  his  right  hand  on 
the  head  of  Ephraim,  and  it  was  wrong  in  his  sight ;  and 
he   took  hold  of  his  father's   hand,  to   remove  it  from  the 

18  head  of  Ephraim  to  the  head  of  Manasseh.  And  Joseph 
said  to  his  father  :  Not  so  my  father,  for  this  is  the  first- 

19  born  ;  lay  thy  right  hand  on  his  head.  And  his  father 
refused,  and  said  :  I  know  it,  my  son,  I  know  it.  He 
also  shall  become  a  people,  and  he  also  shall  be  great ; 
but  yet  his  younger  brother  shall  be  greater  than  he,  and 
his  seed  shall  become  the  fullness  of  the  nations. 

20  And  he  blessed  them  on  that  day,  saying  :  By  thee 
shall  Israel  bless,  saying  :  Grod  make  thee  as  Ephraim  and 
as  Manasseh.     And  he  put  Ephraim  before  Manasseh. 

21  And  Israel  said  to  Joseph  :  Behold,  I  die  ;  and  God 
will  be  with  you,  and  will  return  you  to  the  land  of.  your 

22  fathers.  And  I,  I  give  thee  one  tract  above  thy  brothers, 
which  I  take  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Amorite  with  my 
sword  and  with  my  bow. 

V.  16.  The  Angel.  See  Ex.  3  :  2,  and  compare  v.  4  (properly,  "Jehovah  saw"),  and  vv.  6, 
7  (properly,  "Jehovah  said"),  11,  13,  14,  15.* 

The  land;  namely,  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  (see  the  preceding  clause),  and  of  their  posterity. 

V.  19.  Greater  than  he;  as  shown  in  the  history  of  the  nation,  from  the  times  of  the  Judges 
onward. 

The  fullness  of  the  nations.  Such  he  became,  when  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  was  the  head  of  the 
northern  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes,  representing  them  all  ("  the  fullness  of  the  nations")  in 
itself.  See  the  numerous  allusions  to  Ephraim,  as  not  only  representing,  but  mainly  constitu- 
ting, the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes.f 

Nations;  used  as  in  ch.  35  :  11.  The  word  peoples  is  more  commonly  used  of  the  several 
tribes  descended  from  Jacob. 

V.  20.  By  thee  shall  Israel  bless.  Compare  an  example  of  the  mode  of  blessing  here  referred 
to,  in  another  and  similar  case,  in  Ruth  4  :  11,  12. 

V.  22.  And  I;  that  is,  on  my  part,  when  you  shall  have  been  thus  divinely  restored  (v.  21) 
to  the  land  of  your  fathers. 

I  give  thee;  a  prophetic  gift  to  Joseph's  descendants.^    So  the  words,  "  which  I  take,"  are  a 

*  Compare  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Angels,  (I). 

t  For  example :  Isaiah  7:2,8,9,17;  9:9;  11  :  13 ;  Ezek.  37  :  16,  19 ;  Hos.  6  :  4,  10 ;  7  :  1, 
11 ;  8  :  8  and  9. 

%  "  As  a  man  of  God,  the  Patriarch  speaks  in  God's  name,  and  hence  ascribes  to  himself  the 
conquest  and  the  grant,  which  will  proceed  from  God."— Knobel,  die  Genesis  erkldrt,  2te  Aufl., 
p.  351.    Compare  ch.  49  :  7,  "  I  will  divide  them,"  etc.,  and  the  note,  second  paragraph. 

198 


GENESIS.  Chat.  xlel 


1  And  Jacob  called  to  his  sons  and  said  :  Gather  your- 
selves together,  that  I  may  tell  you  what  will  befall  you 
in  after  days. 

2  Assemble  yourselves  and  hear,  sons  of  Jacob,  and 
hearken  to  Israel  your  father. 

3  Reuben,  my  first-born  thou, 

My  might,  and  firstling  of  my  strength, 
Excellency  of  dignity,  and  excellency  of  power. 

4  Boiling  over  like  water,  thou  shalt  not  excel. 
Because  thou  wentest  up  to  thy  father's  bed  ; 
Then  thou  didst  defile  it. 

He  went  up  to  my  couch  ! 

prophetic  anticipation  of  their  forcible  occupation  of  the  tract,  in  his  name  and  by  virtue  of  the 
gift  here  made  to  them.* 

The  "tract"' here  spoken  of  was  Shechem,  where  Jacob  purchased  "a  part  of  the  field," 
namely,  of  the  open  field  outside  of  the  inclosed  city  (ch.  33  :  19,  and  note).  From  Josh  24  :  32 
we  learn  that  the  sons  of  Joseph  came  into  possession  of  this  tract,  as  their  inheritance. 

Some  translate,  "  which  I  took  ;"  and  they  suppose  that  the  treacherous  and  vindictive  act  of 
Simeon  and  Levi  in  the  slaughter  of  the  Shechemites,  and  the  plunder  of  the  place,  (ch. 
34  :  25-29,)  are  here  referred  to.  But  that  was  in  no  sense  the  act  of  Jacob.  It  was  dis- 
approved by  him  at  the  time  (ch.  34  :  30),  and  is  sternly  rebuked,  and  its  punishment  prophet- 
ically declared,  in  his  final  charge  to  his  sons,  ch.  49  :  5-7.  That  he  should,  notwithstanding  all 
this,  claim  the  act  as  his  own,  and  by  virtue  of  it  bestow  the  place  as  a  gift  on  his  son,  is 
incredible.f 

The  Amorite.  See  Num.  13  :  29,  "  The  Hittites,  and  the  Jebusites,  and  the  Amoritcs,  dwell  in 
the  mountains,"  namely,  the  mountainous  region  of  Judah  and  Ephraim;  compare  Josh.  5  :  1, 
10  :  5,  6,  11  :  3. J 

Ch.  49.    Jacob's  final  prophetic  charge  to  his  twelve  sons.     His  death. 

V.  1.  Will  befall  you;  namely,  in  your  posterity,  in  whom  you  will  be  represented  in  after 
years. 

V.  3.    Firstling  of  my  strength  ;  first-fruits  of  the  strength  of  my  manhood's  prime. 

Excellency  of  dignity,  and  excellency  of  power  ;  namely,  as  first-born,  and  as  such  entitled  to 
pre-eminence  in  rank  and  authority. 

This  is  said,  not  of  Reuben  himself,  as  though  these  were  personal  traits  belonging  to  him, 
but  of  the  first-born,  as  prerogatives  of  that  relation,  forfeited  by  Reuben's  crime. 

V.  4.  Boiling  over  like  water ;  in  the  violence  of  passion,  breaking  through  all  restraints, 
like  swelling  and  boiling  floods  that  no  barriers  can  confine.  Or  the  allusion  may  be  to  watex 
boiling  over  with  heat,  emblematic  of  the  heat  and  violence  of  unrestrained  passion. 

Shalt  not  excel;  shalt  not  be  allowed  the  pre-eminence  belonging  to  thy  birth. 

lie  went  up  to  my  couch  !  See  ch.  35  :  22.  This  ejaculation,  apart  to  himself,  is  characteristic 
of  the  depth  of  emotion  with  which  the  Patriarch  recalls  the  unnatural  crime. 

*  "  As  '  I  give'  is  prophetically  said,  in  reference  to  the  future  viewed  as  already  present,  so 
'  I  take'  must  be  understood  as  prophetic,  meaning  that  Jacob,  not  in  his  own  person  but  in  his 
posterity,  wrests  the  land  from  the  Amorites."— Keil,  Bibltscher  Cjmmentar,  vol.  i.,  2te  Aufl., 
p.  292. 

f  "  As  in  ch.  34  :  30  he  utters  bitter  complaints  of  the  act  of  Simeon  and  Lev!,  so  here  [ch. 
49  :  5-7]  dying  he  disclaims  all  participation  in  it."— Delitzsch,  Commenlar  uber  die  Genesis, 
3te  Ausg.,  p.  584  (note  on  ch.  49  :  5-7). 

i  See  the  article  Amorite,  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary. 

199 


Chap.  xlix.  GENESIS. 


5  Simeon  and  Levi  are  brethren  ; 
Instruments  of  violence  are  their  devices. 

6  My  soul  come  not  into  their  council ; 

To  their  assembly  be  not  my  honor  united ! 

For  in  their  anger  they  slew  a  man, 

And  in  their  self-will  they  undermined  a  wall. 

7  Cursed  be  their  anger,  for  it  was  .fierce  j 
And  their  wrath,  for  it  was  cruel. 

I  will  divide  them  in  Jacob, 
And  scatter  them  in  Israel. 

8  Thee,  Judah,  thee  will  thy  brethren  praise  ; 
Thy  hand  will  be  on  the  neck  of  thine  enemies ; 
Thy  father's  sons  will  bow  clown  to  thee. 

V.  5.     Or,  are  their  swords  V.  6  (4th  line).     Or,  they  houghed  an  ox 

V.  5.    Are  brethren;  not  only  brothers  by  natural  birth,  but  brethren  in  spirit  and  purpose. 

Instruments  of  violence  are  their  devices.  Their  devices  (ch.  34  :  15,  16,  25)  are  instruments 
(means)  of  violence.  The  same  metaphorical  use  of  this  word  occurs  in  Isaiah  32  :  7,  where  by 
the  "  instruments"  of  the  deceiver  are  meant  his  "  wicked  devices." 

Are  their  swords  (margin)  is  regarded  by  many  as  the  true  rendering.  The  force  of  the  accu- 
sation is,  that  their  swords  are  instruments  of  violence  and  wrong,  and  not  merely  of  defense. 

V.  6.  They  slew  a  man;  they  did  not  shrink  from  taking  the  life  of  man  ;  human  life  had  no 
sacredness  for  them.  The  point  made  here,  is  their  disregard  of  human  life.  Whether  few  or 
many  were  slain  is  not  taken  into  account. 

Undermined  a  wall ;  secretly  and  treacherously  destroyed  the  defenses  of  a  peaceful  city, 
when  off  its  guard.  This  explanation  is  not  necessarily  inconsistent  with  what  is  said  in  ch. 
34  :  25  ("  came  upon  the  city  boldly"),  as  the  statement  there  made  is  very  brief,  and  does  not 
enter  into  the  particulars  of  the  treacherous  assault.  But  the  phrase  may  be  a  proverbial 
saying,  referring  to  the  underhand  and  treacherous  device  (ch.  34  :  15,  16,  25)  by  which  they 
took  advantage  of  their  victims. 

Howjhed  an  ox  (margin)  is  supposed  to  be  the  true,  though  it  is  not  the  most  ancient,  render- 
ing. It  is  understood  to  mean  that  they,  in  the  wantonness  of  revenge,  maimed  the  cattle 
which  they  could  not  take  away  for  their  own  use  (compare  Josh.  11:6,9;  2  Sam.  8:4; 
1  Chron.  18  :  4).  This  is  not  strictly  at  variance  with  the  statement  in  ch.  34  :  27-29,  though  no 
intimation  ofsuchanact  is  there  given.  But  it  is  quite  as  probable  that  the  phrase  is  here 
nsed  proverbially,  meaning  to  take  advantage  of  another  by  covertly  disabling  him,  referring 
to  the  treacherous  device  of  which  Simeon  and  Levi  availed  themselves. 

V.  6.  My  soul  come  not,  etc.  An  expression  of  abhorrence,  in  the  form  of  earnest  depreca- 
tion. 

V.  7.  IvM  divide,  etc.  See  Josh.  19  :  1-9,  and  21  :  1-42.  According  to  the  former  of  these 
passages,  the  tribe  of  Simeon  received  no  separate  inheritance,  but  certain  cities  were  assigned 
them  within  the  bounds  of  Judah.  According  to  the  latter  passage,  the  several  families  of  Levi 
were  scattered  through  cities  of  all  the  other  tribes. 

I  will  divide  tli  em.  He  personates  the  divine  will,  in  declaring  it;  the  announcement  of  the 
divine  purpose  being  equivalent  to  its  execution,  since  that  will  certainly  follow. 

V.  8.  Judah;  meaning,  praised  (see  note  on  ch.  29  :  33-35).  The  subject,  not  being  ex- 
pressed in  the  word  itself,  and  only  implied  in  the  connection  in  eh.  29  :  35,  is  here  changed  to 
accord  with  the  object  of  the  speaker.* 

*  "  This  nomen  [name]  the  Patriarch  in  his  blessing  seizes  upon  as  an  omen,  and  explains  it 
as  a  premonition  of  Judah's  future."—  DelUzsch,  Commentar  uber  die  Genesis,  3te  Ausg.,  p.  585. 

200 


GENESIS.  Chap.  xlix. 


Judah  is  a  lion's  whelp. 
From  the  prey,  my  son,  thou  art  gone  up. 
He  bowed  himself,  he  lay  down,  as  a  lion, 
And  as  a  lioness  ;  who  shall  rouse  him  ! 

The  sceptre  will  not  depart  from  Judah, 
he  ruler's  staff  from  between  his  feet, 
Until  Shiloh  come  ; 
And  to  him  belongs  the  obedience  of  the  peoples. 

Binding  his  foal  to  the  vine, 
And  his  ass's  colt  to  the  choice  vine  ; 
He  laves  his  clothes  in  wine, 
And  his  raiment  in  the  blood  of  grapes. 


Nor  tjji 


V.  9.  A  lion's  whelp.  Such  he  appears  now,  in  his  yet  undeveloped  strength.  But  to  the 
prophetic  glance  he  next  appears  as  the  full-grown  lion,  or  as  the  still  more  dreaded  lioness 
guarding  her  young. 

From  the  prey,  etc.  In  the  mixed  metaphor  that  follows  is  a  vivid  picture  of  this  dread  of 
the  shepherd,  familiar  to  the  shepherd  life  of  Palestine  in  Jacob's  time.*     Compare  ch.  37  :'  33. 

From  the  plains,  where  he  seeks  his  food,  he  has  gone  up  to  his  mountain  den.f  Gorged 
with  his  prey,  he  has  stretched  himself  down  for  rest.  Who  so  bold,  as  will  venture  to  rouse 
him  !     The  shepherd,  whose  fold  be  has  robbed,  dares  not  follow  him  to  his  lair. 

V.  10.  Shall  not  depart  from  Judah.  Shall  not  pass  from  him  to  another,  is  the  meaning.  So 
general  an  expression  should  be  taken  in  its  obvious  general  import;  namely,  that  Judah 
should  retain  the  supremacy  among  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and  should  yield  it  to  no  other.  This  13 
verified  in  its  history.  For  notwithstanding  the  revolt  of  the  ten  tribes,  and  the  seventy  years 
of  captivity,  it  (and  it  alone)  maintained  its  nationality  to  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  at  which 
time  it  still  had  its  own  national  institutions  and  laws.  At  the  captivity,  the  nationality  of  the 
rival  kingdom  of  the  revolted  tribes  ceased,  and  was  known  no  more  ;  that  of  Judah  continued 
to  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  soon  after  ceased  forever. 

Rider's  staff— between  his  feet ;  as  often  represented  in  ancient  sculptures. 

Shiloh;  meaning,  Peaceful,  -or  Maker  of  peace.    Compare  Prince  of  peace,  in  Isaiah  9  :  G. 

That  this  refers  to  the  Messiah,  was  held  by  the  oldest  Jewish  interpreters,  and  there  is  no 
sufficient  ground  for  dissenting  from  their  opinion.} 

To  him  ;  referring  either  to  the  nearest  subject,  Shiloh,  the  most  obvious  grammatical  refer- 
ence, or  to  Judah  the  leading  subject  of  the  sentence.  In  the  former  case,  the  word  peoples  is 
to  be  taken  in  its  widest  sense.  In  the  latter,  it  has  its  more  usual  meaning,  namely  the  tribes 
of  Israel ;  and  the  reference  is  to  the  most  brilliant  period  of  Juddh's  supremacy,  when  all  were 
united  under  the  sway  of  David  and  Solomon. 

W.  11, 12.    A  poetic  image  of  affluence  and  ease. 

Binding  his  foal  to  the  vine ;  as  one  whose  life  is  passed  in  the  rich  luxuriance  of  the  vine- 
yard; who,  when  he  dismounts,  ties  his  beast  to  the  vine-stock,  among  the  choicest  vines. 

Laves  his  clothes  in  wine ;  either  a  poetic  hyperbole, §  implying  that  wine  is  as  abundant  as 
water ;  or  a  reference  to  the  actual  bathing  of  the  garments,  in  treading  the  wine-press. 
Compare  Isaiah  C'J  :  '.!. 

The  blood  of  grapes  ;  poetically  for  wine,  as  in  Deut.  32  :  11. 

*  As  it  continued  to  be  long  afterward.     Compare  Judges  14:6;  1  Sam.  17  :  34 ;  2  Sam. 
23  :  20  ;  1  Kings  13  :  24 ;  20  :  36 ;  2  Kings  17  :  25. 
7  Compare  Cant.  4  :  8. 

%  The  discussion  of  the  subject  may  be  found  in  the  philological  notes. 
§  Compare  a  similar  one  in  Job  29  :  8  ; 

When  my  steps  were  bathed  in  milk, 
And  the  rock  poured  out  by  me  streams  of  oil. 
201 


Chap.  xlix.  GENESIS. 


Dark  are  the  eyes  with  wine, 
And  white  the  teeth  with  milk. 

Zebulon  will  dwell  by  the  sea-coasts, 
And  he  will  be  a  coast  for  ships  ; 
And  his  flank  will  be  upon  Zidon. 

Issachar  is  a  bony  ass, 
Crouching  down  among  the  folds. 
And  he  saw  that  rest  was  good, 
And  that  the  land  was  pleasant ; 
And  he  bowed  his  shoulder  to  bear, 
And  became  a  tributary  servant. 

Dan  will  judge  his  people, 
As  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel. 
Dan  shall  be  a  serpent  by  the  way, 


Bark  are  the  eyes,  etc.  Darkly  flushing,  is  meant,  the  first  effect  of  a  moderate  draught  of 
wine.     Wine  and  milk.     Compare  Cant.  5:1;  Isaiah  55  :  1. 

V.  13.     Zebulon.    See  Josh.  19  :  10-16,  and  compare  Deut.  33  :  10. 

Will  dwell;  an  allusion  to  the  name  Zebulon,  which  (from  another  Hebrew  word)  means 
dwelling.     Ch.  30  :  17-21,  note,  third  paragraph. 

By  the  sea-coasts.  According  to  Josephus,*  their  territory  extended  from  the  sea  of  Galilee 
to  the  Mediterranean.! 

Upon  Zidon;  that  is,  Phoenicia,  the  name  standing  as  the  representative  of  the  whole  coun- 
try.   Compare  Josh.  13  :  G ;  Judges  18  :  7. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Zebulon  is  not  mentioned  in  his  proper  place,  which,  in  the  order  of 
birth  of  Jacob's  sons,  would  be  after  Issachar  (ch.  30  :  17-20).  In  this  order  they  are  men- 
tioned also  in  the  blessing  of  Moses,  Deut.  33  :  18. 

VV.  14,  15.  A  bony  ass;  one  of  powerful  frame,  and  capable  of  great  endurance.}  The 
tribe  was  famed  for  its  vigorous  participation  in  the  early  wars  for  the  possession  of  Palestine. 
See  Judges  5  :  15.  What  is  said  here  refers  to  the  subsequent  history  of  the  tribe,  enjoying,  in 
luxurious  ease,  the  abundance  of  its  fertile  fields  and  rich  pasturage. 

Became  a  tributary  servant ;  rendering  service,  by  payment  of  tribute;  preferring  to  pur- 
chase safety  and  ease,  rather  than  assert  his  rightful  independence.  In  this  condition  of  a 
hireling  there  may  be  a  reference  to  the  meaning  (reward,  hire)  of  the  name  Issachar  (ch. 
30  :  17-21,  note,  second  paragraph). 

VV.  16,  17.  WiUjudge  ;  alluding  to  the  meaning  of  the  name  Dan  (ch.  30  :  G,  note,  second 
paragraph).  There  is  pnobably  reference  here  to  the  most  noted  of  the  Judges  of  Israel,  fur- 
nished by  the  tribe  of  Dan  (Judges  chs.  13-16). 

His  people.    By  this  is  meant  the  people  of  the  twelve  tribes,  as  in  Deut.  33  :  7. 

As  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.  Being  the  first  here  mentioned  of  the  sons  by  the  maid-servants 
(Bilhah  and  Zilpah,  ch.  30  :  4-6,  9-13),  it  is  expressly  said  that  he  shall  rank,  notwithstanding 
his  birth,  as  one  of  the  tribes  of  the  chosen  people,  and  entitled  to  its  highest  honors.  This 
was  the  more  pertinent  here,  as  Ishmael,  son  of  the  handmaid,  was  excluded  from  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  promised  seed  (ch.  21  :  10-12). 

Shall  be.  He  here  uses  the  more  authoritative  form,  sometimes  employed  in  prophetic 
declarations  of  the  future. 

*  Antiquities,  v.,  1,  22;  Jewish  War,  hi.,  3,  1. 

t  Compare,  in  the  blessing  of  Moses,  Deut.  33  :  18, 19,  "  they  shall  suck  the  abundance  of  the 
seas." 

i  "The  'strong-boned  he-ass,'  the  large  animal  used  for  burdens  and  field  work,  not  the 
lighter  and  swifter  she-ass  for  riding."— Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  art.  Issachar,  fifth  paragraph. 

202 


GENESIS.  Chap,  xlel 


L8 


A  horned  viper  by  the  path  ; 
That  bites  the  horse's  heels, 
And  his  rider  falls  backward. 

I  wait  for  thy  salvation,  Jehovah  ! 

19  Gad,  a  troop  will  press  upon  him  ; 
But  he  will  press  upon  the  heel. 

20  Out  of  Asher  is  fatness,  his  bread  ! 
And  he  will  yield  dainties  of  a  king. 

21  Naphtali  is  a  hind  let  loose  ; 
One  that  utters  brilliant  words. 

22  Joseph  is  a  fruitful  bough, 


Horned  viper ;  a  venomous  serpent,  found  in  western  Asia,  Arabia,  and  northern  Africa.  It 
buries  itself  in  tbe  hot  sand,  which  it  resembles  in  color  so  as  to  be  hardly  distinguishable,  and 
attacks  animals  passing  by,  springing  two  or  three  feet,  and  holding  firmly  to  its  victim. 

It  is  the  image  of  an  insidious  and  deadly  foe  ;  and  the  application  is  not  difficult  to  trace  in 
the  history  of  the  tribe. 

V.  18.  I  wail,  etc.  Anticipating  the  struggles  of  his  posterity  for  the  possession  of  the 
promised  land,  the  Patriarch  breathes  this  prayer  for  divine  help  on  their  behalf.* 

V.  19.  A  troop;  alluding  to  the  name  Gad,  nearly  related  in  form  to  the  Hebrew  word  for 
"  troop."     Compare  the  note  on  ch.  30  :  11. 

Upon  the  heel;  of  the  flying  foe.  is  meant.  He  will  put  his  enemy  to  flight,  and  will  closely 
press  him  in  pursuit. 

For  the  fortunes  of  this  tribe,  compare  Joshua  13  :  24-28;  Judges  10  :  8,  17,  18,  and  11  :  4-33; 
1  Chron.  5  :  18-22.     Compare  Deut.  33  :  20,  21,  and  I  Chron.  12  :  8-15. 

V.  20.  Out  of  Asher  (put  here  for  his  territory)  isfatness,  the  richest  fruits  of  the  soil  ;  of 
such  is  his  food,  dainties  fit  for  the  royal  table.  Compare  Deut.  33  :  24,  properly :  "  Let  him  be 
the  accepted  among  his  brethren,  and  dip  his  foot  in  oil."    See  Job  29  :  6. 

For  the  territory  assigned  to  the  tribe  of  Asher  (meaning  happy,  ch.  30  :  13,  note),  see  Josh. 
19  :  24-31.     It  was  among  the  richest  portions  of  Palestine. 

V.  21.  Hind,  the  female  deer;  or  possibly  the  wild  she-goat  of  the  mountains,  these  two 
animals  not  being  accurately  distinguished  in  Hebrew. 

A  hind  let  loose  ;  bounding  away  unrestrained,  and  roaming  at  will.  Compare  Hab.  3  :  19, 
"  He  will  make  my  feet  like  hinds'."  It  is  an  expressive  image  of  the  gallant  and  freedom- 
loving  mountaineer. f  Fleetness  of  foot  is  mentioned  as  the  trait  of  a  warrior  (2  Sam.  2  :  18), 
"  light  of  foot  as  the  wild  roe." 

Utters  brilliant  words. %  Both  characterizations  of  the  tribe  were  illustrated  in  the  gallant 
bearing  of  Barak  of  Kedesh-Naphtali  (Judges  4  :  0)  and  his  ten  thousand  followers,  and  the 
commemorative  song  of  triumph  in  which  he  took  part  (Judges  S  :  1). 

V.  22.     The  comparison  is  with  a  luxuriant  vine,  planted   by  a  perennial  spring.     Of  this 

*  "  He  connects  this  utterance  immediately  with  the  tribe  of  Dan,  which  had  many  conflicts 
with  the  Amorites  and  Philistines,  for  whom  they  were  no  match,  but  were  obliged  to  make  up 
their  lack  of  strength  by  cunning,  showing  clearly  how  much  Israel  must  rely  on  higher  aid." — 
Knobd,  die  Genesis  erliart,  2te  Aufl.,  p.  870. 

t  Their  home  was  in  the  "Mount  of  Naphtali'*  in  the  north,  corresponding  t.»  the  "  Mount  of 
Ephraim"  in  central,  and  the  "Mount  of  Judah"  in  southern  Palestine  (Josh.  20  :  7). 

X  "  The  history  of  the  tribe  is  indeed  too  little  known  to  enable  us  to  show  how  Naphtali  has 
specially  distinguished  himself  by  '  brilliant  words."  which  seems  to  intimate  that  he  n  i~  to  be 
peculiarly  the  poet  (or  orator)  tribe  of  Israel ;  but  it  may  at  least  remind  one  <>f  the  tact  that 
the  song  of  Deborah  (Judges,  ch.  5)  is  introduced  as  the  song  of  Deborah  and  of  Barak  the 
Naphtalite."— Delitzsch,  Comrnentnr  uber  die  Genesis,  3te  Ausg.,  p.  599. 

"  It  scarcely  admits  any  other  reference  than  to  poetic  gifts." — Tuch,  ut>er  die  Genesis,  p.  5C5. 

203 


Chap.  xlix.  GENESIS. 


A  fruitful  bough  by  a  spring, 

The  branches  running  over  the  wall. 

23  And  archers  sorely  grieved  him, 
And  shot  at,  and  persecuted  him. 

24  And  his  bow  abode  in  strength  ; 

And  strong  were  the  arms  of  his  hands, 
From  the  hands  of  the  Mighty  One  of  Jacob, 
From  thence,  the  Shepherd,  the  Stone  of  Israel ; 

25  From  the  God  of  thy  father, — and  he  will  help  thee, 
And  from  the  Almighty, — and  he  will  bless  thee, 
With  blessings  of  the  heavens  above, 

Blessings  of  the  abyss  that  lies  under, 
Blessings  of  the  breasts  and  of  the  womb. 

26  The  blessings  of  thy  father  prevail, 
Above  the  blessings  of  the  eternal  mountains, 
The  delight  of  the  everlasting  hills. 

They  shall  be  for  the  head  of  Joseph, 

And  for  the  crown  of  him  that  was  separated  from  his  brethren. 


Joseph  is  "  a  fruitful  bough,"  its  "  branches  running  over  the  wall,"  spreading  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  inclosu're.  The  allusion  is  to  the  exuberant  fruitfulness  of  the  house  of  Joseph 
(compare  the  name  Ephraim,  ch.  41  :  51,  52,  and  note),  and  its  wide  extension  in  his  posterity. 

W.  23,  24.  The  image  changes;  the  mind  of  the  Patriarch  reverting  to  former  days  and  the 
earlier  fortunes  of  Joseph.  He  is  here  the  object  of  hatred  and  violence,  under  the  image  of  a 
champion  beset  by  deadly  foes,  and  sustained  in  the  unequal  contest  by  divine  support.* 

From  thence,  the  Shepherd,  the  Stone  of  Israel.  This  is  an  emphatic  repetition  of  the  thought 
in  the  preceding  line;  the  "Mighty  One  of  Jacob"  represented  here  as  the  "Shepherd,  the 
Stone  of  Israel;"  the  Shepherd,  as  being  his  overseer,  director,  and  guardian;  the  Stone,  as  an 
image  of  firmness  and  strength.  Compare  "  Rock  of  Israel,"  in  2  Sam.  23  :  3,  and  Isaiah  30  :  29 
(properly,  "the  Rock  of  Israel"). 

V.  25.  TJie  abyss  that  lies  under;  the  "  waters  beneath  the  earth"  (Deut.  5  :  8),  supposed  to 
be  the  source  of  the  springs  that  water  its  surface.  Compare  Deut.  8  :  7,  properly,  "  and  of 
depths  (abysses)  issuing  forth  in  valley  andin  mountain." 

V.  26.  Prevail  above  (have  a  power  and  efficacy  that  exceeds)  the  blessings  of  the  eternal 
mountains,  in  value  and  in  perpetuity. 

Blessings  of  the  eternal  mountains — delight  of  the  everlasting  MUs.  Compare,  in  Isaiah  35  :  2, 
"the  glory  of  Lebanon,"  "  the  excellency  of  Carmel  and  Sharon." 

That  was  separated  from  his  brethren.  This  may  mean,  that  was  violently  severed  from  them 
by  their  own  vindictive  and  cruel  act;  or  that,  in  the  providence  of  God,  was  separated  from 
his  kindred,  by  being  raised  to  official  rank  and  power  far  above  them  all. 

The  former  seems  the  more  probable  meaning.    All  this  wealth  of  blessing  is  in  reserve  for 

*  Against  this  view  it  has  been  urged,  by  Knobel,  Delitzsch,  Keil,  Lange,  and  others,  that 
this  image  is  unsuited  to  the  case  of  Joseph;  and  they  interpret  these  verses  as  referring  to  the 
subsequent  fortunes  of  Joseph's  posterity.  But  the  image  seems  to  be  appropriate,  as  explained 
in  the  text,  and  strikingly  illustrative.  A  good  man,  unjustly  persecuted  and  oppressed,  and 
through  divine  aid  made  to  triumph  over  his  enemies,  may  properly  be  represented  as  a  cham- 
pion aggressively  assailed,  and  sustained  against  the  assault. 

204 


GENESIS.  CHAr.  xlix. 


Benjamin  will  raven  as  a  wolf; 
In  the  morning  he  will  devour  the  prey, 
And  at  evening  he  will  divide  the  spoil. 

All  these  are  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  And  this  is 
what  their  father  spoke  to  them,  and  blessed  them  :  each 
according  to  his  blessing  he  blessed  them. 

And  he  commanded  them,  and  said  to  them  :  I  am  to 
be  gathered  to  my  people.  Bury  me  with  my  fathers,  in 
the  cave  that  is  in  the  field  of  Ephron  the  Hittite  ;  in  the 
cave  that  is  in  the  field  of  Machpelah,  which  is  before 
Mamre  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  which  Abraham  bought 
with  the  field  of  Ephron  the  Hittite,  for  a  possession  of  a 
burying-place  ;  there  they  buried  Abraham  and  Sarah  his 
wife  ;  there  they  buried  Isaac  and  Rebekah  his  wife,  and 
there  I  buried  Leah  ;  the  possession  of  a  field,  and  the 
cave  that  is  therein,  from  the  sons  of  Heth. 

And  Jacob  made  an  end  of  commanding  his  sons  ;  and 
he  gathered  up  his  feet  into  the  bed,  and  he  expired,  and 
was  gathered  to  his  people. 


him  who  was  treacherously  and  cruelly  severed  from  home  and  kindred,  and  sold  into  the  hand 
of  strangers.    There  is  comparatively  little  force  in  the  other  view. 

There  is  here  a  fullness  of  paternal  feeliug,  a  richness  and  prodigality  of  blessing,  such  as 
would  naturally  be  poured  forth  on  the  lost  and  recovered  child  of  the  object  of  early  love,  and 
child  of  old  age.  These  natural  affections,  under  divine  guidance,  often  become,  as  here,  the 
fittest  instruments  for  the  expression  of  the  divine  will. 

V.  27.  The  tribe  was  distinguished  for  military  spirit  and  prowess.  Poo  Judges  20  :  1.",  16; 
2  Chron.  14  :  8.  The  verse  describes  the  fierce  military  spirit,  sometimes  amounting  to  ferocity, 
displayed  in  the  history  of  the  tribe.  Sec,  for  example,  Judges,  ch.  20,  vv.  12  and  following, 
and  compare  2  Sam.  2  :  15,  16. 

Morning— evening.  His  time  is  spent  in  war  and  plunder;  the  morning  in  devouring  the 
prey  (routing  and  destroying  the  enemy),  the  evening  in  dividing  the  spoils.  Or  the  language 
may  express  the  vigor  and  rapidity  of  his  conquests.  The  morning  and  the  evening  witness  his 
victory  and  the  division  of  the  spoils. 

VV.  2^-33.     Jacob's  charge  respecting  his  burial  ;  his  death. 

V.  28.    According  to  his  blessing;  such  ;is  he  was  entitled  to,  and  received. 

V.  20.    I  am  to  be  gailiercd  to  my  people.     Pee  v.  33,  and  ch.  25  :  8,  note,  second  paragraph. 

V.  30.    See  ch.  23  :  17,  18.     Cave,  etc. ;  ch.  23  :  7-0,  note,  third  paragraph. 

Foss>  ssion  of  a  burying-place  ;  ch.  23  :  3,  4,  note,  end  of  second  paragraph. 

V.  31.  Tiiere  they  buried  Abraham  (ch.  25  :  0, 10) ;  and  Sarah  (ch.  23  :  19).  They  hurled  Isaac 
(ch.  35  :  20).    Jiebekah—Leah.     There  is  no  statement  given  elsewhere  respecting  their  burial. 

V.  32.  The  possession,  of  afield,  etc.  These  words  are  connected,  in  grammatical  construc- 
tion, with  the  last  two  clauses  in  v.  30,  thus  :  "  which  Abraham  bought  with  the  field  of  Ephron 

the  Hittite,  for  a  possession  of  a  burving-place the  possession  of  a  field,  and  the  cave  that  is 

therein,  from  the  sons  of  Heth." 

V.  33.    Gathered  to  his  people.    See  ch.  25  :  8.  and  note,  second  paragraph. 

205 


Chap.  l.  GENESIS. 


1  And  Joseph  fell  upon  his  father's  face  ;  and  he  wept 
upon  him,  and  kissed  him. 

2  And  Joseph  commanded  his  servants,  the  physicians,  to 
embalm  his  father  ;  and   the  physicians   embalmed  Israel. 

3  And  forty  days  were  completed  for  him  ;  for  so  are  com- 
pleted the  days  of  embalming.  And  the  Egyptians  wept 
for  him  seventy  days. 

4  And  the  days  of  mourning  for  him  were  past.  And 
Joseph  spoke  to  the  house  of  Pharaoh,  saying  :  If  now  I 
have  found  favor  in  your  eyes,  speak,  I  pray,  in  the  ears 

5  of  Pharaoh,  saying  :  My  father  made  me  swear,  saying  : 
Behold  I  die  ;  in  my  grave  which  I  have  dug  for  me  in 
the  land  of  Canaan,  there  shalt  thou  bury  me.  Now 
therefore  let  me  go  up,  I  pray,  and  bury  my  father,  and 
return. 

6  And  Pharaoh  said  :  Go  up,  and  bury  thy  father,  accord- 
ing as  he  made  thee  swear.  i 

7  And  Joseph  went  up  to  bury  his  father ;  and  there 
went  up  with  him  all  the  servants  of  Pharaoh,  the  elders 

8  of  his  house,  and  all  the  elders  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 

Ch.  50.    Burial  of  Jacob.    Joseph's  death. 

VV.  2,  3.  The  art  of  embalming  was  a  very  ancient  one  in  Egypt,  some  mummy-cases  bear- 
ing the  date  of  the  oldest  kings. 

It  is  here  said  that  the  process  of  embalming  occupied  forty  days.  ,An  ancient  writer,*  familiar 
with  Egyptian  customs,  says  that  it  required  "  more  than  thirty"  (in  some  manuscripts  of  his 
work,  forty)  "days."  According  to  another  ancient  writer  +  it  lasted  seventy  days.  But 
this  probably  included  the  whole  time  from  death  to  the  interment  of  the  body.}  This  account, 
moreover    is  many  centuries  earlier  than  the  age  of  the  oldest  of  these  two  writers. 

V.  4.  Spoke  to  the  house  of  Pharaoh.  Egyptian  custom  required  that  the  hair  and  beard, 
for  the  sake  of  cleanliness,  should  be  closely  shaven,  except  in  seasons  of  mourning  ;§  and  to 
appear  unshaven  in  the  presence  of  the  monarch  was  an  affront. 

It  is  also  pertinent  to  remark,  that  he  could  prefer  a  petition  on  his  own  behalf  more  delicately, 
and  with  more  propriety,  through  others. 

V.  7.  Elders  of  his  house— elders  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  By  the  former  are  meant  officers  of 
his  household,  who  had  the  oversight  of  its  several  departments;  and  by  the  latter  officers  of 

*  Diodorus  Siculus,  i.,  91. 
|    f  Herodotus,  ii.,  86. 

%  "  A  careful  examination  of  the  passage  shows  that  it  fixes  the  whole  period,  during  which 
the  body  was  in  process  of  embalmment,  at  seventy  days.  As  this  period  began  with  the  death 
and  ended  with  the  interment,  and  as  the  mourning  had  the  same  commencement  and  termina- 
tion, it  follows  that  the  statement  of  Herodotus,  and  that  of  the  sacred  writer  who  says  that  the 
mourning  lasted  seventydays,  are  in  perfect  agreement."— Eengstenberg ,  die  B'ucher  Mose'sund 
Egyptrn,  p.  TO. 

§  See  ch.  41  :  14,  and  note,  second  paragraph. 

206 


GENESIS.  Chap.  l. 


all  the  house  of  Joseph,  and  his  brothers,  and  his  father's 
house  ;  only  their  little  ones,  and  their  flocks  and  their 
9  herds,  they  left  in  the  land  of  Goshen.  And  there  went 
up  with  him  both  chariots  and  horsemen.  And  the  com- 
pany was  very  great. 

10  And  they  came  to  the  threshing-floor  of  Atad,  which  is 
beyond  the  Jordan  ;  and  there  they  mourned  with  a  great 
and  very  grievous  lamentation  ;  and  he  made  a  mourning 
for  his  father  seven  days. 

11  And  the  inhabitants  of  the  land,  the  Canaanites,  saw 
the  mourning  in  the  threshing-floor  of  Atad,  and  they 
said  :  A  grievous  mourning  this,  of  the  Egyptians!  There- 
fore its  name  was  called  Abel-mizraim,  which  is  beyond 
the  Jordan. 

12  And   his  sons   did   to   him   thus,  according  as  he   com- 

13  manded  them.  And  his  sons  carried  him  to  the  land  of 
Canaan  ;  and  they  buried  him  in  the  cave  of  the  field  of 
Machpelah,  which  Abraham  bought  with  the  field,  for  a 
possession,  of  a  burying-place,  from  Ephron  the  Hittite, 
before  Mamre. 

14  And  Joseph  returned  to  Egypt,  he,  and  his  brothers, 
and  all  who  went  up  with  him  to  bury  his  father,  when 
he  had  buried  his  father. 

Btate,  who  had  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the  realm.  As  these  were  men  of  age  and  experience, 
they  are  called  Elders,  a  title  of  official  dignity  and  rank. 

V.  9.  Chariots  and  horsemen ;  for  both  of  which  Egypt  was  celebrated,  as  shown  in  the 
sacred  records,  and  on  the  monuments  of  ancient  Egypt. 

Funeral  processions,  conducted  with  great  pomp,  were  a  custom  of  the  Egyptians  from  very 
early  times.* 

YV.  1  I,  11.    Atad;  properly  meaning  thorn-bush,  from  which  the  place  took  its  name. 

Beyond  the  Jordan;  that  is,  on  the  other  side  of  it,  which  side  is  meant  depending  on  the 
writer's  point  of  view. 

The  position  of  the  place,  afterward  called  Abel-mizraim,  is  not  satisfactorily  ascertained,  bat 
it  was  probably  on  the  west  side  of  the  Jordan. f  Abel-mizraim;  meaning,  mourning  of  the 
Egyptians. 

There  is  nothing  improbable,  as  has  been  alleged,  in  this  account  of  the  honors  thus  paid  to 
Joseph.  To  judge  rightly  of  the  credibility  of  a  transaction,  the  whole  oi  it  must  be  taken  into 
account.  It  can  not  certainly  be  deemed  improbable  that  one  should  be  so  honored,  whose 
superhuman  foresight,  and  administrative  ability,  had  saved  the  nation  from  destruction  by 
famine,  and  whose  sagacious  management  had  secured  signal  advantages  to  the  government 
itself  (ch.  47  :  14-26). 

*    Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Czistoms  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  plates  83 .  v  I . 
t  Compare  Dr.  Hackett's  note  to  the  article   Abel-mizraim,   in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary, 
American  edition. 

201 


Chap.  l.  GENESIS. 


15  And  Joseph's  brothers  saw  that  their  father  was  dead, 
and  they  said  :  If  Joseph  should  purpose  evil  against  us, 
and  should  surely  requite  to  us  all  the  evil  which  we  did 

16  to  him  !     And  they  sent  a  charge  to  Joseph,  saying  :  Thy 
lT  father  commanded  before   he   died,  saying  :  Thus  shall  ye 

say  to  Joseph  :  0  forgive,  I  pray,  the  trespass  of  thy 
brothers  and  their  sin,  that  they  did  evil  to  thee.  Now 
therefore,  forgive,  we  pray,  the  trespass  of  the  servants 
of  thy  father's  God.  And  Joseph  wept,  when  they  spoke 
to  him.' 

18  And  his  brothers  also  went  and  fell  down  before  him  ; 
and  they  said  :  Behold,  we  are  thy  servants. 

19  And  Joseph   said   to  them  :  Fear  not ;  for  am  I  in  the 

20  place  of  God  ?  And  as  for  you,  ye  intended  evil  against 
me  ;  God   intended  it   for  good,  in  order  to  do  as  at  this 

21  day,  to  preserve  much  people  alive.  Now  therefore,  fear 
not.  I  will  nourish  you  and  your  little  ones.  And  he 
consoled  them,  and  spoke  to  their  heart. 

22  And  Joseph  dwelt  in  Egypt,  he  and  his  father's  house. 

23  And  Joseph  lived  a  hundred  and  ten  years.  And  Joseph 
saw  Ephraim's  sons  of  the  third  generation.  The  sons  also 
of  Machir,  son  of  Manasseh,  were  born  upon  Joseph's 
knees. 

VV.  15-21.  These  verses  furnish  conclusive  proof,  if  any  were  needed,  of  the  truth  of  the 
Buggestion  (notes  to  phs.  42  :  7,  and  45  :  5-8),  that  there  was  nothing  vindictive  or  resentful  in 
Joseph's  severity  toward  his  brothers.  Their  dread  of  his  just  resentment,  no  longer  restrained 
by  their  father's  presence,  only  moves  him  to  tears,  and  assurances  of  protection  and  support. 
But  it  is  not  the  weak  tenderness  that  overlooks  or  palliates  wrong.  He  is  just  to  the  claims  of 
conscience,  and  to  the  liigher  good  of  the  offender  himself;  and  does  not  allow  him  to  forget 
that  he  intended  evil,  while  consoling  him  with  the  assurance  that  God  intended  good. 

Servards  of  thy  father's  God  ;  pleading  that  sacred  relation,  as  a  shield  from  his  displeasure. 

V.  23.  Sons  of  the  third  generation ;  probably  meaning  Ephraim's  sons  who  were  of  (belonged 
to)  the  third  generation,  namely,  Joseph's  great  grandsons.  Some,*  with  less  probability,  un- 
derstand by  it  sons  of  (that  is,  offspring  of)  the  third  generation,  namely,  Joseph's  great  great- 
grandsons.  The  expression  can  hardly  mean  at  the  same  time  Ephraim's  sons  and  sons  of  the 
third  generation. 

Machir ;  ancestor  of  the  Machirites,  Num.  26  :  29,  32  :  39 ;  Judges  5  :  14. 

Were  bom  upon  Joseph's  knees.  This  is  a  proverbial  expression,  meaning  that  he  lived  to 
receive  them  on  his  knees,  when  they  were  born.f 

*  Keil,  on  the  passage. 

f  According  to  a  form  of  expression  quite  common  in  Hebrew,  equivalent  to,  "were  born" 
(and  laid  upon)  "Joseph's  knees."  The  expression  is  obviously  used  for  a  different  purpose  in 
ch.  30  :  3.  See  the  remark  on  it,  and  the  reference  (in  the  foot-note)  to  Job  3  :  12,  and  the 
writer's  note  on  the  passage  (Book  of  Job,  Part  Second,  explanatory  notes). 

208 


GENESIS.  Chap.  l. 


24  And  Joseph  said  to  his  brothers:  I  die;  and  God  will 
surely  visit  you,  and  will  bring  you  up  from  this  land  to 
the  land  which    he    swore    to  Abraham,   to    [saac,    and    to 

25  Jacob.  And  Joseph  made  the  sons  of  Israel  swear,  say- 
ing :  God  will  surely  visit  you,  and  ye  shall  carry  up  my 
bones  from  hence. 

26  And  Joseph  died,  a  hundred  and  ten  years  old.  And 
they  embalmed  him,  and  put  him  in  a  coffin  in  E^ypt. 

V.  24.     Will  visit.     See  ch.  21  :  1,  and  note. 

V.  26.     Embalmed.    See  the  note  on  vv.  2.  3.     Coffin ;  the  case  in  which  the  embalmed  body 
was  preserved. 


Here  ends  the  fourth  and  last  division  of  the  book  (chs.  12-50),  containing  the  history  of  the 
Patriarchs.  The  groundwork  is  now  Ml;  laid  tor  the  history  of  the  people  of  Israel,  and  for 
all  the  historical  allusions  necessary  for  the  illustration  of  their  history,  and  of  the  purpose  of 
God  in  selecting  and  setting  them  apart  as  his  chosen  people. 

209 


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